Super Paper Mario 2: Saga of the Stars
by zen-ink
Summary: 9 months have passed since Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and Peach all banded together and used the power of the 9 pure hearts to banish the evil Dimentio from this world. But now, they find themselves back in Flipside after receiving a cryptic message from Merlon!
1. Introduction

**_Hey guys.. Just an update. I haven't forgotten about the story, I've just been incredibly busy with my life over the past very long time lol. I went back and did some heavy reviewing to the story thus far, as well as working on new chapters and content (which you can expect out soon, although some updates might take quite some time as I'm still pretty busy with things.) Anyways, I hope you enjoy the new updated content! :)_**

**_Also, I've added in a fun new little feature, I've put music in places where it should be playing in accordance with what's happening in the story. So I encourage all my readers to use it if you like, if not that's fine too! Just take the address and plug it into youtube (type youtube dot com into the address bar and then copypaste after that and it will bring up the music) _**

**_Thanks again!_**

* * *

_**Fog... looming...  
Looming over a garden of innocence...  
A garden not of fruit nor flowers  
But a garden of time.  
A dream... shared...  
Shared by the two chosen of Destiny  
Brings forewarning of a secret evil;  
An ancient, well known evil,  
Capable of such sinister disguise  
That only two pure souls  
Lost to one another by time and space  
May hope to vanquish.**_**  
****_Only can the power of True Love conquer such evil._**

So it is written.

* * *

_[ Music Engaged: __ watch?v=bOafSb2_yUI__ ]_

Mario awoke to the brisk morning air, a slight disturbance making its way down his spine due to the looming fear that haunted him through the night. He was not feeling himself today.

Nevertheless, the mustachioed Mario awoke as he joined his brother for breakfast.

"Morning Bro! How'd you sleep?"

"Good… I guess."

"Better than I can say for myself… I spent the whole night tossing and turning."

Mario was struck with curiosity. "Why?" he inquired.

"I dunno.. I just felt somehow uncomfortable all night. I think I was having a bad dream or somethin'."

Could Luigi's have been having the same nightmare? The possibility piqued Mario's interest, but before he could even have time to think or say anything, a loud bell chimed from outside the door.

"**MAIL CALL!"** Parakarry shouted from the other side. "You have an important letter here from the Princess, Mario! Better read it."

Mario walked outside onto the patio and, in a quick moment, embraced the freshness of the lovely summer day. The aroma of freshly baked Koopa Buns from Lady Koops' Bakery floated on the air, and the enchanting scents of Bub-ulb flowers tickled his nose.

Mario received the letter and thanked Parakarry, and the mail koopa nodded and waved as he flew off. The envelope was richly decorated, which was nothing unusual for Princess Peach. Even her stationary could be used as a symbol for her status.

**Dear Mario,  
I would be delighted if you would come to my castle today to join me for lunch and tea, as well as some discussion over this wacky dream I had last night! I'm not sure why, but I feel my discussing it with you will hold some special significance. Strange, right!? Anyways, come over ASAP! And bring Luigi too! See you soon!**

**~Princess Peach**

"Why does Peach always expect us to show up within 5 minutes of reading her letters?" he wondered to himself aloud.

"Dunno! …but usually when the princess has something to say, it's either A, really important governing stuff, or B, something that's about to get us in a whole lot of trouble and end up having to save the world." Luigi mused.

"Which one do you think it is today?"

"Knowing the Princess? Probably B. C'mon, we'd better hurry before the princess gets impatient!"

And with that Mario and Luigi headed off to the palace.

* * *

_[ Music Engaged: __ watch?v=1NSLbnH19Q0__ ]_

Upon their arrival, the Mario Bros. were greeted as per usual by the guard toads, and were thusly escorted through the many floors and corridors of the castle to the princess's room, which resided in the tallest tower.

Standing before a large door with a massive star emblazoned upon it, Mario reached out for a knock. But the doors burst open before he could get the chance, and the princess, in all her pink beauty, stood before the two plumbers.

"Mario! Luigi! You've come! And you're only …3 minutes late! What took you so long?"

"Sorry princess, traffic!" exclaimed Luigi.

"Let us adjourn to the tea room for some discussion."

Peach lead the two through several more corridors of the palace. Mario and Luigi couldn't help but observe the awe-inspiring spectacle of the halls. Despite the many times they had been here, it was always captivating compared to what they had at home.

"The tea room is just around here."

Mario and Luigi followed the princess into the banquet room, which housed an unusually large table blanketed with a lacey white tablecloth. Looking up, you could see a cathedral-style ceiling with stained glass depictions of the night sky, complete with stars, and a large balcony with two equally large glass doors leading out ot it. The doors were open, which gave way for the warm summer breezes to sporadically flow into the room, each gust rustling the rich pink curtains as well as creating a scattered grain across the fluffy white carpet.

They took a seat, and before even a moment could pass, several servant toads were already bringing in cups of tea, small sandwiches, and little sweet biscuits by the boat-loads.

"So about that dream…" started the Princess, not giving the heroes a chance to indulge in the spread. "It was really bizarre! I remember, it was very dark… and there was a mysterious - almost discomforting – fog that just _loomed_ over what I think was a garden. I felt rather uneasy the entire time, but what really got me was when right before I woke up, I saw an eerie shadow emerging from the fog!"

Silence.

"...well what do you think?!"

Mario and Luigi sat with their mouths agape, pieces of crumpet falling from their extended jaws.

"Boys! It's not polite to chew with your mouths open!"

"Sorry princess!" quipped Luigi, shaking off his shock. "It's just that.. well, I had the exact same dream last night!"

"As did I!" added Mario.

"What!? You're telling me we all had the same dream? This is odd… very odd! Well this sort of thing isn't normal! That doesn't just happen out of coincidence! I think we need to pursue this matter further." exclaimed the Princess.

Mario could already tell where this was going… they were about to end up on some crazy adventure again.

"We should tell somebody important about this… Somebody wise, and all knowing!" she further added.

_[ Music Pause ]_

And with that suggestion, all of a sudden, the gentle summer breezes rapidly transformed into a violent slipstream that blew in through the veranda. The harsh winds began shaking the fancy pictures on the walls and overturned several plates of food. Everything went dim and a powerful energy gathered at the center of the room above the banquet table. The energy continued to amass into a brightly glowing ball, and in a flash, a flickering transparent image of Merlon appeared!

"_**MARIO! LUIGI! PEACH!**_" Merlon's ethereal voice boomed through the entire castle. "_**I have urgent news for you! Please, make your way to Flipside as soon as possible as this is quite important! I apologize for appearing in such a reckless fashion; it would seem I've rather destroyed your little tasty looking sandwiches. But this was the only way I could contact you! I won't have very long to make this broadcast, so please, as soon as you get this message, come to my house! MERLON OUT!**_"

_[ Music Resume ]_

And just as quickly as the image appeared, it was gone in another flash of light, leaving the violent winds to dissipate.

Peach brushed her long windswept hair out of her face.

"So... Merlon needs our help now? _OOOH_ this is bizarre! First we all have the SAME dream, and now Merlon is beckoning us back to Flipside!" Peach clapped giddily.

"No no no… Princess, you're staying here. Luigi and I will go to Flipside and meet Merlon to see what this is all about."

Peach laughed. "Oh Mario, you MUST be joking! He clearly stated he needed ALL of us there! And I had the same dream as you guys! Clearly we are all in this together!"

"But… Peach, I…"

"Silence! I am going and that is final. I'll give you both a half hour to pack. Meet me back here at half-past-noon and we will depart to Flipside! We can use the Curious Cabinet to do so."

The doors to the banquet room burst open and several toads flooded in.

"**PRINCESS!** Are you alright? Everything got all dark, and then there was this shaking, and we heard _**an ominous voice**_ coming from this room!"

"I'm quite alright, boys! Prepare the Curious Cabinet for my friends and I please; we will be departing to Flipside within the hour!"

"_Oh boy… The princess is going on another one of her hairbrained adventures…_" muttered one servant toad to another while the other snickered.

"Right then! We shall prepare the Curious Cabinet for you, your Peachiness!"

"Thank you!" Princess Peach called out with a bright smile. "Go on! You guys better get packed with anything important!" and with that, she procceded to shoo Mario and Luigi out the door.

* * *

_[ Music Engaged: __ watch?v=6gcgyTJIYfE__ ]_

The Mario Bros. were on their way back to the castle, having finished packing. However, considering they had only been given thirty minutes to pack, they didn't end up bringing very much at all. That was okay though, as they were rather used to traveling light and without amenities.

"The princess can just be so stubborn sometimes…" Mario sniped as they walked.

"Whad'ya mean, bro?"

"I mean, why does she constantly have to insist on putting herself in the way of danger?"

"Hey, we don't even know if there even _is_ any real danger. Maybe Merlon just wants to say 'Hey, how's it going?'"

"Well… the way of _possible_ danger, then. I mean she's a princess for crying out loud. If something happens to her, then the entire Mushroom Kingdom is in trouble. She doesn't seem to get that."

"Well you know how she is. She's never really been one to shy away from danger, or a good adventure either. I guess it must get pretty boring being a princess, y'know? Just sitting on your royal rumpus all day..."

"Either way, it's irresponsible and reckless!"

"Come on bro, the princess has always been wise despite her recklessness. She's never really done anything to get herself in the way of any real life threatening harm. Well, besides that time she tried to save Mimi, but anyone with a heart woulda done the same."

"I suppose..." Mario reluctantly concluded.

They arrived at the palace at just a minute past 12:30. As they did, the palace doors opened abruptly and an eager (albeit impatient) Peach stood before them.

"What took you guys so long! Its 12:31! You're a minute late!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry princess, I couldn't find my toothbrush!" Mario gave Luigi a subtle look of approval, grateful for his attempts to mellow the princess's temper by means of his trivial excuses.

"Come! Come! The Curious Cabinet has been prepared! We're ready to set off for Flipside."

_[ Music Stopped ]_

The princess took the goomba-stomping duo through a countless number of castle corridors, leading them down some dark, unfamiliar hallways made of stone. Two Guard Toads escorted the three of them, using torches they had borrowed from the corridor's walls. Eventually, they came to a very large wooden door that, by the state of it, looked as if it must have been there for ages. Mario and Luigi could tell they were in the palace cellars, or "dungeons" as they may have been called back when they were built. They traversed more of the dank stone hallways, illuminated only by the faint and flickering light of the wall torches. They came to a door that looked even older than the one before and entered. The room they were now in was deceptively large, at least for the part of the castle it was in. The room was full of mysterious ancient trinkets, all of which appeared to have some unique or otherwise mystical property.

"Welcome to the Room of Ages, gentlemen! This is where I keep all of the magical items that a century's worth of Mushroom Kingdom's explorers have donated to the state. Most of the things in here are actually quite useless, but others have proven to be rather useful over the years, such as the Curious Cabinet here!" the princess explained.

"This room is incredible!" exclaimed Luigi, who was fluttering from relic to relic like a kid in a candy shop.

Among the various items around, none stood out more than an extremely large wooden curio, which stood in the very center of the room. Underneath it, a massive mosaic was engrained into the floor, depicting the Stars and Heavens. A vent in the ceiling allowed a single beam of light to shine in right on the cabinet, revealing the multitude of dust that was floating through the air. Observing the cabinet, the heroes noticed it had been painted purple, although not tactfully, with several ancient symbols and stars on it. A single servant toad was standing by the door of the cabinet.

"How long have you been standing there?" Luigi turned to the toad and asked.

"Too long." the toad replied with a straight face. "All set then, princesss?"

"Mhm! Come fellas!" Peach beckoned Mario and Luigi over.

The servant toad struggled to push the door open and did so carefully, as it looked like the door to the thing might break off any second. The cabinet creaked exceptionally loudly, causing Mario and Luigi both to cover their ears.

When the cabinet was fully open, Mario was surprised by the deceiving amount of space that lay within it. It was clearly large enough to fit the three of them, and Mario imagined that more could likely fit just as easily. As they all stepped in, Mario and Luigi attmpted to curb their enthusiasm although that enthusiasm was laced with a certain level of concern, as well. The servant toad waited for the princess's word.

"Alright boys… close your eyes… go to your happy place… you must feel completely relaxed." the princess explained, her tone becoming more soft.

Mario and Luigi did just that.

"When toad closes the door, I want you to think about one thing, and one thing only: Flipside. Got it?"

"Got it." The brothers replied in unison.

They all stood with their eyes closed. Peach peeked over to make sure they were focusing.

"**YOU'RE NOT DOING IT RIGHT!**" she shouted, clearly dissatisfied with the brothers' concentration. The anticipation of the entire moment had been shattered, causing Luigi to shutter and fall on his face.

"I was doing it!" he exclaimed, picking himself up and dusting off his knees.

"NO YOU WEREN'T! You need to **_FOCUS!_****"**

"I WAS FOCUSING UNTIL YOU SHOUTED AND RUINED THE WHOLE THING."

Peach glared at him.

"Do you understand _how_ _powerful_ of a relic this is? Do you understand the possible _**DANGER**_ involved in using it if you do not use it correctly?! You need to **CLEAR YOUR MIND**! Clear it of all things! Forget about your worldly concerns, or whatever petty worries you may have. Give yourself completely over to the stars. When you reach that point, the ONLY thing you should be thinking about is Flipside!"

"Ok ok… Let's go again."

And so, with another try, silence once again took hold of the room. Peach peeked over at the plumbers again. Satisfied, she looked to the servant toad and gave a brief nod before closing her eyes as well. A large creaking sound filled the ears of the wincing plumbers as the door slowly inched shut.

From outside the cabinet, a bright flash of light emanated through the cracks and holes and a loud, mystical sound - which could be described like the sound of windchimes - bellowed forth from the cabinet, nearly blinding and deafening the poor servant toad.

To Mario, the blackness beyond his closed eyes became engulfed in white. Then, within mere seconds, the light had consumed everything.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	2. Prologue

**PROLOGUE: Catch You on the Flipside**

_[ Music Engaged: __ watch?v=mCr2cuGzebE__ ]_

* * *

_[ Music Engaged: __ watch?v=ryJ7n2ebQ9E__ ]_

In another flash of light and chimes, Mario, Peach, and Luigi arrived in Flipside in the other Curious Cabinet, which after the events of their previous adventure in Flipside, Peach had relocated to an old abandoned house in the middle of town.

.  
"Ah! We're here!" exclaimed Peach. "Come on, we'd better hurry to Merlon's house!"

Peach hurried out of the cabinet, barely leaving the plumbers any time to catch up as she eagerly rushed her way through the charming little streets of the tower village. The princess could not shake a strong sense of urgency about the situation, or was it merely that she was too enthusiastic to go on another exciting adventure? Had the princess become addicted to these world-saving escapades? Mario seemed to think so.

Regardless, as they arrived at Merlon's starry shop, Peach did not hesitate to burst hastily through the door.

"MERLON!" she shouted. "We're here, oh thank goodness! I was getting so worried! I rushed these two here as soon as I possibly could, for fear that the worlds might be at stake again!"

"Thank you for your noble efforts, princess. And no sooner could you have arrived, indeed! I would like to tell you about my dream-"

Peach interrupted.

"Oh... a dream? Th-that's all you wanted to tell us? ...are you sure?" the princess looked a little disappointed, whereas a slight smile twitched beneath Mario's mustache. "Was it about fog? And a garden? And then a creepy shadowy figure thingy?"

"Why yes! Yes it was! By the stars, princess, are you psychic?"

"No, of course not! I had the same dream last night! In fact we all did!"

"Really? Why, that's a little bizarre, isn't it?"

"THAT'S WHAT I SAID!"

The four of them sat in discussion for a number of minutes, pondering a possible explanation for the odd dream they shared. All of a sudden, a Flipsidite burst through the door, panicked and out of breath.

"**MERLON… CREATURES... ATTACKING... FLIPSIDE...!**"

_[ Music Engaged: watch?v=EbS4rHOrMB4 ]_

"What's this!?" Merlon's eyes widened. "What is it, man!? Get a hold of yourself! What reason have you for barging into my house when I am with guests!?"

"THERE'S... I DON'T KNOW, CREATURES! ATTACKING FLIPSIDE! They're causing havoc everywhere!" the Flipsidite continued gasping for air.

"You'd better go check that out, bro." Luigi suggested as his eyes shifted avoidantly.

"Come, we all shall!" Melon beckoned.

"_Great..." _Luigi groaned nervously under his breath.

Mario, Luigi, and Peach followed the wizard outside into the streets, where they encountered numbers of small, peculiar shadowy creatures running amok. The creatures were determinedly turning over the city house by house, and knocking innocent citizens to the ground in the midst of their relentless pursuit.

.

"My word! What are these infernal beings?!" Merlon looked around furiously.

"They just showed up out of nowhere, Master Merlon!" a passing Flipsidite added as he ran for cover.

Merlon grumbled. "Well, where have they come from? What do they _want?!_"

Suddenly and without warning, the creatures congregated into one big group and boarded the elevator, retreating to the city's 2nd story.

Another sprinting villager added as he ran by, "François said they're looking for something! They're headed for the Hall of Mirrors!"

"What... NO! It couldn't possibly…" Merlon looked very concerned.

"Is something the matter, Merlon!?" inquired Peach.

He paused for a moment. "QUICK! You must go to the Hall of Mirrors! See what they are after! MAKE HASTE!" exclaimed Merlon.

The trio made their way to the Hall of Mirrors as fast as they could, but by the time they had gotten there, the shadow creatures were already intruding upon the sacred site.

."Mariooo! We've got to do something!" Peach shouted over the commotion of the creatures' shrieks.

Mario nodded, and with that, he went to work on exterminating the shadow creatures one after the other using his hammer. After defeating a couple of them, the mass of creatures nervously retreated. _[Music End]_ After the shadow creatures fled, Merlon approached the Hall of Mirrors and led the heroes inside, immediately inspecting the picture of Merluvlee.

"Thank the stars." He sighed to himself in relief.

"Merlon… What were those things! And what were they after in here?" Peach inquired.

"I shall explain... but first, heroes, you must do me a favor. I need you to enter the Temple of the Stars."

"...the what?" they all asked in unison as they donned looks of confusion.

"A long long time ago, my ancestors founded this very town as you know to protect the power of the pure hearts. But one of my ancestors, a very powerful and mysterious woman, a woman by the name of Mermesmina, wrote a tome that she packed from cover to cover with ancient secrets. These secrets spoke about the very nature of the universe itself and, if they fell into the wrong hands, could…"

He hesitated.

"Could what?" Peach asked worriedly.

"...could be used to destroy the entire world. Well, all worlds really."

"Oh not **AGAIN**…" Mario sighed deeply and put his palm to his forehead.

"I think it is apparent that yet _another_ villain is making a rise to power, as evident by the events here today. And thus decidedly, this villain too will attempt to destroy the worlds. What worries me is how this _mystery villain_ knew of the tome's existence, and how these creatures knew where they could find it. I need you to enter the Temple of the Stars, heroes. It is the sacred and ancient sanctuary built by my ancestors, hidden away from all worlds. You must go there and retrieve the tome. It is clear to me, heroes, that you are going to need to save the world once more. And if that is so... well, we will need the tome in our possession rather than in our enemy's."

Mario re-emphasized putting his palm to his forehead. "Every time… **EVERY** time! It never ceases to elude us, does it?"

"I do apologize, Mario. I know you must be tired of continually saving the worlds... but this old wizard asks of you your services one more - and hopefully last - time. Please Mario… the fate of the worlds rests in your hands."

"We'll do it, Merlon! You can count on us!" exclaimed Peach.

Mario's gaze darted straight to the princess.

"PEACH! Have you fully lost it? You're not coming! You are going to stay here in Flipside with Merlon, where you are safe!"

"On the contrary, Mario… I'm really not sure how safe Flipside is from evil right now. For you, for me, for the princess... for all of us, really. It would likely be best if you took Princess Peach along, at least for now. Do not forget, she has proven to be a valuable asset to your quest in the past, as she possesses abilities you do not. After all, she _is_ one of the heroes of prophecy!"

Mario folded his arms and stubbornly shook his head.

"No no no **NO**! I won't allow it! Not this time!"

"Mario, you _heard_ Merlon! Flipside isn't safe! We need to work together to defeat this new evil, before those shadow things come back and cause some serious harm to the poor innocent Flipsidites!"

"Indeed. The Princess speaks words of wisdom!" insisted Merlon.

"UGHHHH fine! You win! The Princess shall **once again** throw her life into the eye of danger and, while she's at it, put the sanctity of the entire Mushroom Kingdom at stake! _PERFECT_!"

"Splendid! Now then, allow me to open the doorway to the Temple of the Stars. The Temple is a very holy place mind you, and as such, it can only be accessed by a _special spell_ a millenium old; a millenium's worth of keeping such an ancient secret on how to access its hallowed halls!"

Merlon took a nearby pebble from the floor and lobbed it at the stained glass window of Merluvlee, causing it to shatter into a million pieces. Left in its place was a glittering sheet of magical energy.

Merlon then demonstrated how to enter into the Temple by jumping through the space where the window once was. _[ Music Engaged: watch?v=IehI97dEwvw ] _When they landed on the other side, they found themselves no longer in Flipside, but rather inside an enormous dome shaped room, with a glass ceiling that gazed upon the night sky overhead. In the center of the dome ceiling was a sun shaped construct, and through that sun, the moon outside was able to shine in brightly through the glass, beaming its light upon a large pedestal in the center of the temple. Additionally, all around the sun-shaped construct on the ceiling were stained glass depictions of 12 different characters, each one unique, and each one directly parallel to a correlating podium on the floor.

"This, my friends, is the Temple of the Stars! I must say... it's a thousand times more beautiful than I could have ever imagined! The way it is described in the very few tomes I've read about it does not do it any justice."

The three heroes gasped as they took in the amazing detail of the room around them.

"So... you've never actually been here before, yourself?" Peach questioned while her eyes wandered about the room.

"Nay; I actually thought this place to be a mere myth. A metaphor, if you will. It was not until recently that in my studies did I learn it truly existed, and right here in Flipside no less. The temple you see here exists outside the bounds of space and time, which is why the sky overhead is in a perpetual state of midnight. The moon shines down from directly over us."

"_Coooooooooooool_." the three heroes sung together.

A large mystical tome sat resting upon the large center pedestal in the room, fluorescently shimmering through an entire spectrum of colors.

"_**Libri Astrum!**_" exclaimed Merlon, quickly approaching the pedestal. "_The Book of Stars_… we will need to use the prophecies written in this book to discover how to defeat this new evil. …I …I have never used any magical artifact so powerful before in my life. I pray I am strong enough to be a worthy vessel for its energies."

Merlon hesitantly reached out to grab the tome. The moment his hand met with the book, a bright burst of rainbow light began to emanate from it. Simultaneously, the pale rays of moon that had continually shone in upon the book had morphed into an intense ray of chromatic light. Merlon, Mario, Luigi, and Peach all cautiously backed away from the pedestal, unknowing of what might happen next. The book opened by itself, sending forth a blinding flash of white light from its hallowed pages. When all of the released magical energy had finally subsided, the book levitated down and rested itself contently upon the pedestal once more, the singular beam of moonlight still churning with a variety of colored lights.

Unexpectedly, the book began to glow again, but this time with a golden light which swirled up into the air and circulated around in an elegant pattern before exploding into a burst of golden sparkles. Through these sparkles formed a transparent image of Mermesmina, like the one Merlon had conjured in Peach's castle, which was now floating before them. It began to speak, and as it spoke, it recited a passage from the mystic book in a tone sweet like a song:

_**A prophecy shared by two  
Dreamt the heroes four  
Uniting those who through the world  
Across an evil tore**_

_**Our mighty Gods and Goddesses  
Of ancient reverence  
Their lieutenants guide the way  
To that evil's penance**_

_**Twelve you shall seek  
Twelve you shall find  
Collect the ancient relics  
Forged of divine mind**_

_**Unite them here in this holy place  
As all time's heroes do  
And a vessel shall be chosen  
Who ye stars bore unto**_

_**A Knight to rule Heavenly Fire  
A Maiden govern Earthly Desire  
Evil's Reflection is Dual of Heart  
The Lovers, gripped a World Apart  
A Jungle King of Noble Birth  
An ancient Goddess, bound to Earth  
By Saint and Sin our Souls Adorn  
The Phoenix through Death is Reborn  
The Archer's Bow a Guiding Light  
Those Who faught a Timeless Fight  
A Water Nymph, born of the Sea  
The Stars' Descendent of Destiny**_

_**After this you all shall know  
The Power of the Heavens' Glow**__  
__**And** **a**_**_n age-old bond made of love  
Will call upon the stars above;_**

_**Receive now the prophecy**_  
_**Lest the end ye all shall see;**_

**_Fog... looming...  
Looming over a garden of innocence...  
A garden not of fruit nor flowers  
But a garden of time.  
A dream... shared...  
Shared by the two chosen of Destiny  
Brings forewarning of a secret evil;  
An ancient, well known evil,  
Capable of such sinister disguise  
That only two pure souls  
Lost to one another by time and space  
May hope to vanquish._****  
****_Only can the power of True Love conquer such evil._**

And then the image faded away.

Merlon pondered a moment.

"Mmm, okay. I see… this is very curious." Merlon was standing over the book, reading over the open passage that the image of Mermesmina had just recited.

"Listen well, heroes: long ago, the Gods and Goddesses whom my ancestors ultimately worshipped created twelve _celestial guardians..._ omnipotent lieutenants of the heavens whose sole duty alone it was to watch over this sanctuary. It was their job to guard the gateway between the Worlds and Heavens, and in addition, the power that lay within them… that is, the _**Power of the Gods**_. To make certain evil would never have its way with that power, these divine guardians of the Gods' power each conjured a powerful and divine _item_, an object which was then imbued with their very spirit; these objects were vessels of the guardians' scattered these objects through space and time, hiding them in a varying multitude of locations across all worlds. It is written here that should those twelve objects ever be united in this temple, then the gateway to the Heavens would open, and the _Power of the Gods_ would be accessible. However, according to this tome, this _divine power_ requires a living vessel. If the vessel should be pure of heart, then it is said the worlds will live in peace and happiness forever. If that vessel should be evil, well… the worlds would be destroyed, and the wielder of that power would become infinitely powerful, invincible, and capable of existing outside of space-time. They would become ruler of all worlds. I believe that the task will fall to you three heroes of prophecy to retrieve these twelve ancient relics that belong to the _Guardians of the Heavens_. You will need to unite them here. Then, and only then, can you defeat this evil."

It took the heroes a moment to absorb all this information. They were quite overwhelmed.

"Never have you had to take on such a grand task as this." Merlon added.

"But… we don't have a pure hearted vessel… do we? Where can we find one?" inquired Peach.

"I am fully confident that during the progression of your journey, you will gain the knowledge to be able to answer that question for yourselves, as at this time I cannot. I can, however, use the _Libri Astrum_ to obtain the information that will help guide you in the right direction towards finding each of the guardians' relics of power."

"So… where do we even start?" asked Luigi.

Merlon approached the tome once more. He read long and hard.

"Ah hah! I have discovered a passage:

_**The Sword was forged of Molten Fire  
Wielded by a Heavenly Knight  
Its blade is sharp, its strength is dire  
granting the will to fight.**_"

When Merlon finished reading the passage, the tome yet again unexpectedly burst into illumination, this time with a vibrant blood-red glow. The book slipped out of Merlon's grip and floated off the pedestal, levitating several feet into the air. The red glow grew progressively brighter when suddenly, the book burst into flames. Merlon panicked and attempted to jump for the book, but decided to let the event run its course. The flames grew stronger and stronger, and then a powerful blazing beam shot forth from the pages and straight through the portal into Flipside. The beam's intensity lit the heroes' faces with blinding red light and a burning heat. Seconds after, there was a deafening boom and a quake, and before anyone had even realized what had happened, the book was resting peacefully upon the pedestal once more.

"...Whoa." Peach gasped.

"_Come heroes!_ Quickly!" Merlon darted out of the temple.

* * *

_[ Music Engaged: watch?v=ryJ7n2ebQ9E ]_

Back in the center of Flipside, all the villagers were acting completely natural as if a massive beam of light _hadn't _just shot through the town and caused the earth to quake.

"I... I don't understand… nothing's happened?" Mario was quite puzzled.

"Don't be so certain. I feel a strange force… I... I am being pulled somewhere. Follow me, heroes!"

Merlon laed the group, acting almost like he was in a trance. He navigated his way determinedly through the many streets of Flipside, and then through the maze of Flipside Outskirts.

"Where in the blazes are we going!?" Peach impatiently demanded after several minutes of following.

"_Here!_" Merlon came to a stop.

Standing before them was a towering red door engraved with symbols of stars, fires, swords and shields. Atop the door hung several banners, each one depicting horses, knights, and tents.

"Surely this is where you must go! Through that door, you should find the Knight's Sword, the first relic of power!"

Mario nodded. "We will find it then."

"I bid you good luck as always. I would join you if I could, but I must go back to my studies and search for more clues as to the whereabouts of the remaining eleven relics!"

"Of course, Merlon. Thank you for all your help. We will not fail you!" Peach smiled brightly.

"Yeah, thanks a bunch old man." Luigi added.

The heroes fixed their attention on the intimidating door. Together, they pulled it open with all their might, and stammered with confidence into the black void that lay before them.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	3. Chapter I Part I

**CHAPTER 1**

_Middle Age Crisis_

_[ Music Engaged: __ watch?v=dzC6NTHRQ48__ ]_

* * *

_[ Music Engaged: __ watch?v=qXkFQQL3Exk__ ]_

_**Meridel**_

Stepping out of the darkness, the light greeted Mario, Peach, and Luigi accompanied by humid summer air and the relentless chirping of crickets.

"Well this is a rather normal looking world compared to what I was expecting. Where do you suppose we are?" asked Peach.

"We could be anywhere. We should probably get out of this forest, don't you think? Hopefully there's a town or something up ahead, yeah?" Luigi suggested.

So the heroes set off through the forest, treading lightly, so as to not provoke any wild goombas or koopas they might happen upon. After walking for a short while, navigating the maze of trees as best they could, they came to a village full of colorful tents pitched all over the place. A crowd of people was gathered around what the heroes could only barely make out as a very large _arena_ of some sort in the center of all the madness.

"What's going on here?" Mario approached a nearby toad who was wearing a blue and white striped hood and a tunic.

"What's going _ON_ here?! **_WHATS GOING ON HERE!_**"

Mario was scared.

"**WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT'S GOING **_**ON**_** HERE!** It's the annual _Knight's Tourney_! You know, when all of Meridel's most renowned horsemen come together and do battle by the lance for the title of _King's Squire_!"

"King's Squire…?" Mario looked confused.

"_Meridel…?_" Peach was also confused.

"Lance?" Luigi was the most confused.

The toad put his palm to his face. "I take it you lot aren't from around here." he quipped with a funny accent.

"How could you tell?" inquired Peach.

"Well for one, you're wearing some awfully strange clothing… red with overalls?! THAT my friend is a _huge_ fashion faux-pas!"

Mario frowned.

"**AAAANYWAYS…** _if_ you folks are done wasting my time, I'd very much like to get back to watching the game! _The Black Knight_ is about to win you see. He's the champion and holder of the title of King's Squire, three years running!"

"I take it he's good at what he does then." Peach commented, attempting to understand.

"**HAH!** _GOOD_ is an understatement! It's not quite fair, actually… The Black Knight wins every year, but we're not even allowed to cheer him on. Nobody really knows who he is, or where he even hails from. He never takes off his helmet! But I don't care. I will always be loyal to my beloved Blue Knight! _**YAAAAY! GO BLUEY!**_"

Peach had lost the toad's attention.

"So… we're in a place called Meridel. Where the heck is that?! I've never even heard of this place." Exclaimed Luigi.

"No idea, but I'm thinking we should have a little chat with this '_Black Knight_' character. I'm betting my bottom coin he'd have some answers for us."

"But Mario! You heard what that toad said! Nobody knows where he came from! And apparently he never associates with anybody… like a loner!"

"Well we'll figure out a way! We need to find that magic sword, remember..."

Mario and his pals made their way around the crowd of cheering toads, koopas, and goombas, looking for anybody they might be able to talk to, or even for a break in the crowd so that they might get close to the ring to spectate. No luck.

Upon further exploration of the grounds, a massive stone castle caught their attention.

"Whoa... how'd we miss that?" Luigi chimed in.

"Ahh okay, a castle! Let's go then." Mario led his friends up to the drawbridge.

"**_HALT!_**" shouted two Royal Toad Guards in unison as the heroes approached the castle gates.

Mario, Peach and Luigi stopped abruptly, a tad startled by the toads.

"**WHAT BUSINESS HAVE YOU WITH THE GREAT KING ARES!**"

"What business have you _YELLING IN MY EAR?!_" shouted Peach, her temper slightly shocking Mario and Luigi.

"_WHAT DID YOU SAY, PEASANT?!_" the Guard Toad retorted back.

"_I SAID STOP YELLING!_"

Luigi and Mario both look at Peach and shook their heads briskly, insisting she keep quiet.

"**WHY YOU LITTLE…. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, SASSING YOUR SUPERIORS!**"

"You are **NOT** my superiors! I just so happen to be a Princess!"

"YOU? A PRINCESS?! AHAHAHAH" the toad guards chuckled.

Peach's face turned bright red as she swelled with anger. "UGHH how dare you! You are SO disrespectful! I am too a Princess! Haven't you ever heard of the _Mushroom Kingdom!?_"

The guard toads dropped their spears and their mouths went agape. "**P-P-P-PRINCESS PEACH!?**"

"That's right!" Peach had her hands on her hips, growing impatient with the toads.

"But you… and I don't… AND WE THOUGHT…"

All three heroes stepped back, now looking highly confused.

"…..SAY SOMETHING, YOU DOLTS!" Peach demanded of the stammering guards.

"_Princess!_ We are awfully sorry! We had no idea we were in the presence of royalty!" the guard toads both bowed graciously.

Peach's expression changed to a smile. "That's more like it!" she sneered.

"Y-y-you are the princess of our kingdom's head!"

"That's precisely ri- wait huh?" Peach looked even more puzzled now.

"This is Meridel Kingdom! A separate sub-state of our Head State, Mushroom Kingdom! You are our supreme commander..."

"_Ohhh…_ Come to think of it, I do vaguely remember daddy telling me about the Mushroom Kingdom's separate boroughs in the different worlds. I can't believe I didn't recognize the name..." the princess nervously giggled and brushed her head.

"..y-yes… well… are you here to see the king, my princess?"

"Yes, I am! Please, noble guard toads, take me to King Ares!" Peach proclaimed upon the guards using her tone of royal authority. The toads obeyed at once.

"**VERY WELL!**" The toads stomped their spears on the ground twice, bringing down the drawbridge. "I WILL TAKE THE PRINCESS AND HER ODDLY DRESSED FRIENDS TO THE GREAT KING ARES! YOU STAY AND GUARD, AS A GUARD TOAD DOES!"

"VERY WELL! ...but hurry back, Frank. I get lonely here."

"I will, Marvin!"

_**Meridel Castle**_

Frank the Guard Toad escorted Mario, Luigi, and Peach through the many stone hallways of the castle and up several flights of stairs, until finally they reached the throne room. Frankknocked thrice upon the large wooden door, prompting a bellowing voice from the other side to call out.

"_**INTRUDE!"**_

The doors opened with a thud, and Frank led the trio through a long room with a lengthy red carpet.

"**GREETINGS TRAVELERS! I AM THE GREAT KING ARES! PRAY TELL, WHAT MIND DOST THOU PAY TO OUR HUMBLE KINGDOM OF MERIDEL?**"

"Does everybody always yell around here?" Luigi muttered into Mario's ear.

"King Ares! I am Princess Peach, of the Mushroom Kingdom! I ha-"

"**PRINCESS PEACH!?**" King Ares hopped off his throne and onto the floor, bowing incessantly. "**I'M NOT WORTHY! I'M NOT WORTHY!**"

"No, no King… n-none of that…" Peach looked embarrassed.

"Pray tell, princess. What hast brought thou to Meridel?" the king inquired as he stood up.

"Well, my friends here and myself are actually on a quest!" exclaimed Peach.

"Ah, a quest! How noble! A princess who doth scoff at the face of danger! What sort of quest might thou be on?" inquired the king.

"Well it's a long story, really. But in short, we're trying to save the world from impending doom!"

King Ares paused for a moment, gazing upon the princess as if she were a three-headed goomba. Then, he burst into outrageous laughter.

"BWAHAHAHAHA HA HA HA HAAAAaaaaa… "

Peach's face turned red again. "IM SERIOUS!"

"My fair princess, on a quest with two such outrageously garbed men to save the world! Tell me princess, dost such an image not conjure up jest in thee!?"

"**NO!**" Peach was upset.

"Not even a little?"

"I'm telling you the truth, king. Either way, it's not important whether or not you believe me. I need to ask you about the Black Knight."

"The Black Knight? A most noble horseman indeed! Herald of the King's Squire title-"

"Three years running, we know that part!"

"He's also a merciless scoundrel!" billowed the king.

"King Ares, do you know where he lives? Or if we could perhaps speak with him?"

"Ah, I'm afraid many have attempted to consort with the Black Knight, but sadly all have met with futility. He is of mysterious brand… yet 'tis his mystery that makes him so marvelously alluring in battle, I suppose."

"So you're saying he doesn't talk to _anybody_?" asked Luigi.

"In truth!"

"So then where exa-"

Luigi was interrupted by a door on the other side of the chamber slamming open. A fair young woman with long, sleek blonde hair and a dress, similar to Peach's but instead green, stormed in.

"**FATHER! IVE ABOUT HAD ENOUGH OF THINE BILLOWING BLATHERING ****BOISTEROUS KNIGHTS!** Many a night now I rest aloft in my bed, yearning of dreams, only to be viciously pulled back to the confines of consciousness by thy _cantankerous cavaliers_ and thy ceaseless racket!"

"Princess Peach! I pray of thee… meet my daughter, Princess Llhyme of Meridel!"

"How do you do." Said the green princess impatiently, her tone still flaring with anger as she gave an half-hearted curtsey. "Father… I mean it… I want thine _arbitrary armada_ banished from the grounds at once!"

"My dear, you know I can't! We need hold out till a champion be proclaimed…"

"Pray tell the purpose! Myself and thee can both agree that upon the tourney's end, thine worthless black swine's victory and inordinate lack of manners shalt rear thy ugly head, as thou traipse back into the wood where he belong!"

"I take it you're not a fan of the Black Knight..?" inquired Peach to the medieval princess.

"_Still thy tongue_, yonder pink-enrobed churl! Spare me the sound of that name! A false name, in truth..."

"Well everyone else seems to be a fan!" exclaimed Luigi, smiling dumbly.

"Heroes, harken; each year, yonder… '_Ebon Templar'... _is named champion of my tournament. However, thine tournament's prime purpose hath long since been a search, you see, for a formidable betrothal for my here daughter! Thy champion three-years-running, however, refuseth the princess's hand in marriage."

"So he's _refused_ all three times to marry your daughter? Yet he keeps entering the tournament and winning!? Well I can see where that could be annoying…" added Peach.

"It sounds to me like this guy needs a serious beatdown!" exclaimed Luigi.

The king took Luigi's suggestion, turning it over in his head for a moment.

"Hold thyself, yonder _queer troupe_; 'tis not such a grody plan. Indeed, I believe it is time the Black Knight's reign of triumph came crashing down upon thine be-helm'd head! Pray tell, would'st thou be willing to commit such a deed…?" inquired the king.

"Yea, sure. We're used to knocking jerks on their backsides. And if we _do _take down this Black Knight, we may get the answers we seek out of him." replied Mario.

"Heroes, I pray thou let my daughter accompany thee; her beauty and daintiness be only an image, let it not fool you. Llhyme has powers most commendable, that I have utmost faith, and no doubt in my mind may be a valuable asset to thine quest!"

"Powers? What kind of powers?" asked Peach.

"Delighted you asked. **_BRESCENDO!_**" the green princess shouted, holding her hands outstretched in front of her towards the throne room's wall. A mighty blast of neon green energy struck the stone wall and it exploded into thousands of tiny pebbles, leaving a rather large ray of sunlight pouring in where there was now a massive hole.

Mario, Luigi and Peach all seemed rather intimidated by Princess Llhyme. It made them kind of nervous having such a volatile young woman wielding that kind of power around. Nevertheless, they agreed to let the princess accompany them on their journey.

**Princess Llhyme has joined your party!**

**Llhyme's Abilities: A Primer**

**Press 1 to activate Princess Llhyme's "Brescendo" power to blow open walls or burst any boulders that may be blocking your path. If she uses Brescendo in the direction of an enemy, she will make a first strike with 'Brescendo' attack.**

**She can also confuse enemies in battle with her Green Flash ability, or even remove status ailments and heal Mario using Lime Power!**

"Yey, verily. We shall lay waste to that knight! Shall we?"

Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Llhyme all departed from the castle in pursuit of the Black Knight.

"So, Llhyme. Do you have any idea where we might be able to find the Black Knight?" Luigi asked as they made their way towards the outskirts of town.

"Indeed. He'll not come 'round Meridel until the tournament finals. Meanwhile, thy idiot would'st most likely be found bumbling 'round his fortress in thine Meridel Forest." she explained.

* * *

_[ Music Engaged: __ watch?v=qv5mnIioCxE__ ]_

_**Meridel Forest**_

They traveled long and far through the forest, going on intuition alone paired with whatever assistance Llhyme could manage to offer. Subtle hints led them in the right direction though, such as the remnants of training dummies scattered across the forest floor, as well as the Black Knight's calling card, the stallion, engraved upon several trees.

Surely enough, they eventually arrived at a towering black citadel in a clearing in the woods. Mario noticed that it was surprisingly unguarded.

"Alright, Peach and Luigi, you guys wait out here and stand watch. Llhyme and I will go into the fortress and see if we can't find this Black Knight fellow."

Peach and Luigi nodded.

_**The Black Knight's Fortress**_

_[ Music Engaged: watch?v=sZJ2pySMm6U ]_

Mario and Llhyme wandered on in and began traversing through the many dark, cold halls of the black stone fortress.

"Be wary, Mario. The fortress be deceptively empty, surely. Expect an ambush."

Not a moment later than the princess's forewarning were the two caught off guard by two knights, also in black armor, wielding swords.

"HALT! None shall pass!" shouted the knights as they engaged Mario and Llhyme in battle.

Mario tried using a jump attack on one of the knights, but it was no use as his armor was too thick.

One of the knights approached Mario, slashing him with his sword. The attack dealt considerable damage. The second knight, instead of making an attack, let out a loud whistle, calling a black steed to his side. The knight then mounted the steed and equipped a lance.

"_Crap_…"

It was Mario's turn again. This time, he summoned all his might into a hammer attack on the first knight, but it only dealt minor damage as the knight's armor was too thick.

"Their armor is protecting them against most of my attacks!" Mario exclaimed, hoping the princess might have some helpful advice. "My attacks are useless against them…"

"Allow me. I shall make quick work of thee, addlepate!" Llhyme shouted at the knight. "**_BRESCENDO!_**" she cried out her magic word once again. One blinding burst of green light and a sonic boom later, and the two found the knights laid to waste.

"Whoa… you know, you're really kind of scary."

The princess smiled at this. "Judge not a book by its cover, hero. I hath been a sorcerer's apprentice far longer than thou hast been combating evil!"

They pressed on through the fortress hallways, making certain to avoid as many guards as possible. Eventually they came to a winding spiral staircase. Figuring it led to the top of the tower, they climbed it all the way to find exactly what they had been looking for: the Black Knight's chamber.

"On thy guard!" whispered the princess before entering through the door.

She slammed the door open as forcefully as possible, hoping to catch the Black Knight off his guard.

"**'EY! O'RE YOU LOT AND WHAT ARE YE DOIN IN ME CASTLE!?**" the Black Knight billowed in a surprisingly unintelligible-sounding voice.

"We are here to defeat thee, thou most incommodious swine!"

"**PRINCESS!?**..._ye've_ come to challenge me, 'ave ye!? Well… I'm all busy with the tournament an' whatnot at the moment…"

"**SPARE ME THINE EXCUSES!** I ought to bombard'st thou with witchcraft so wicked, thou would'st not remember thine own name!"

"If ye fancy a challenge – '**AN I AIN'T ONE TO SHY AWAY FROM NO CHALLENGE** – find me at the fairground, an' we'll duke it out, whatyasay? '**AN I WILL BEAT YE BONES THROUGH YE SKIN!**"

The princess desired to protest, preferring to defeat the knight right here and now... but before the she could, the Black Knight jumped out the window landing onto his steed on the ground below and took off riding back toward the tournament grounds in Meridel.

"HEY MARIOOOOO! HE'S OUT HERE! HE'S GETTING AWAY!" the duo heard Peach call out from outside.

"Ughhhh… We have to go ALL the way back to the village now!?" Mario groaned.

"Make haste, hero! By every ounce of presage flowing through mine veins, I shall meet that imbecile with incursion so gruesome, mine own father would advise against it!"

"I repeat... you're kind of scary."

* * *

_Meridel Forest_

_[ Music Engaged: __ watch?v=qv5mnIioCxE__ ]_

Mario and Llhyme departed from the fortress as swiftly as possible, reuiniting with their friends once outside. Together, the group traversed the forest once more, and even though they knew the way this time, it was still quite a taxing journey. Mario considered resting at the inn back in town before going to confront the Black Knight.

They ran into a couple snags on the way; some rowdy goombas and koopas had decided to assault them in a small clearing. It was nothing they couldn't handle,; Princess Llhyme had proven herself to be a rather amazing asset to Mario's team, as she had a very adaptable repertoire of abilities. He was particularly fond of her Lime Power ability, which removed all of Mario's status ailments and healed their entire party for 5 health each. This was particularly handy against the poisonous Noxious Goombas and Dark Koopas, which the forest was consequently _full_ of. After not too long, they came to a block in the road, an enormous rock that the Noxious Goombas had placed as a trap to any travellers foolish enough to fall into it.

"Hahahaha! Look what we have here, boys! A bunch of pathetic adventurers! Hey, guy! Didn't anybody ever tell you not to go wandering around in the woods if you're not prepared?" a group of Noxious Goombas presented themselves and began taunting Mario and pals. "I can't believe they fell for our trap!"

"Yesss! I was starting to think nobody was ever going to fall for it, and it would just be there mocking us for the rest of our lives, just a sad reminder of our failures!"

The first Noxious Goomba turned to the second and stared at him with discord.

"Uhhh… err I mean.. I knew somebody would fall for it eventually!" he nervously attempted to amend his first statement.

"**ENOUGH OF THIS MEANINGLESS RAPPORT! ****_BRESCENDO!_**" Llhyme had lost her patience and sent the goombas flying with a single spell. "**_BRESCENDO!_**" she shouted once more, bursting through the boulder with a powerful flash of green light.

"You know... even though you scare me, I like having you around!" Mario smiled and Llhyme smirked with sinister pleasure as they continued on their way.

_Meridel_

_[ Music Engaged: __ watch?v=qXkFQQL3Exk__ ]_

As they finally arrived back in town, Mario kept his promise to himself and hit the inn for a little R&R before attempting to tackle the Black Knight. Llhyme took some much needed rest as well, not realizing how much of a toll her several uses of magic had taken on her until just now.

Later on, the rejuvenated band of heroes made their way over to the fairground with no time to waste. They pushed and shoved their way through the hoards of spectators. In the center of the crowd, they found the tournament ring, and in the center of the ring, they found the Black Knight. The group entered into the ring, causing the crowd to fall silent in anticipation of their confrontation with the knight.

"So ye came. I gotta commend ye lot, ye got more guts than I would'o thought out of ye! Except for ye princess, yer a lil haranger at the best o' times."

"**BEGONE ONCE AND FOR ALL LOATHSOME FIEND!**" Llhyme crossed her hands and readied herself a spell, but the Black Knight interrupted.

"EH EH Princess! None o' yer fancy magic in this fight! We duel like knights ta'day!"

"…what art thou on about?" the green princess looked startled.

"Fetch yerself a horse and a lance, lassy! We're gonna joust in the spirit o' the tourney!"

"Thou jest! I am but myself a fair princess, I know not how to joust!"

The Black Knight laughed maniacally. "Who ye think yer foolin!? Why, jus' last year ye out-jousted the lot o' these pathetic excuses fer knights in a mere few minutes alone! I seen what ye can do, princess. Ye ain't foolin me!"

The Princess was disgruntled that he remembered such a display of expertise. She paused.

"…...very well. Mario, don thee a lance! And fetcheth thee a steed… we're taking this foul swine down."

"Umm... ok…" Mario was a little nervous. He had never jousted anybody before, and now he was about to go against a world's champion jouster. Breathing deeply, he retrieved a lance from the weapons rack and mounted a horse from the stables. Princess Llhyme got on behind Mario.

"If thou findest thou art in danger, I will use my magic to help thee." She whispered. "Here, a helmet to protect thyself." Mario nodded as she handed him the armor.

And so the Black Knight and Mario rode their steeds to opposite ends of the jousting range, getting themselves into position. On the referee's whistle, they began charging at full speed toward one another, lances outstretched. Hundreds of spectating Meridelians watched and cheered for both sides. When the horses began to close in on one another, Mario's stomach cringed, and with all his might, he held out his lance aiming directly for the Black Knight's breastplate. Much to his surprise, Mario made a critical hit, sending the Black Knight hurling off his horse.

"MARIO! Thou did it!" exclaimed Llhyme as the horse came to a halt. She hopped off the horse and ran over to the defeated knight. Mario followed.

"**HAH!** Thou art no match for a champion such as this, _knight_! Thou art not even truly one!" Princess Llhyme mocked the knight where he lay on the ground.

"_Oiiiiiiii_… yer right, princess. Ye got yerself a real champion there."

"YEA, THOU KNOW'ST I DO! …wait... thou know'st I do..?" the princess questioned the knight, clearly confused.

"Indeed… ye sure showed me! Which is why I'm quittin' being the Black Knight, fer good."

The entire spectating crowd gasped and went silent.

"Thou….. Thou art!? ...**THOU JEST, AGAIN!** Spare me thine games, _BOAR_! I shall end thy game right here…." Llhyme readily crossed her hands again.

"No no! Really… I give up. Ye beat me! I don' wanna be the Black Knight no more!"

"Prove it! Remove thine helmet!" Llhyme demanded.

Obeying the princess's order, the Black Knight grasped his helmet. As he did, every single person in Meridel was watching in complete and utter anticipation.

"_Do you really think he's gonna do it!?_" whispered a spectator toad to another.

"_No way! It's just part of his plan... he's distracting them so he can make a sneak attack!_"

But, true to his word, the Black Knight removed his helmet, only to reveal... _O'chunks!_

"….O'CHUNKS?!" exclaimed Princess Peach, her mouth falling open in shock, as did Mario's and Luigi's followed.

"Ye! How ya doin Princess… been a while, 'asn't it?"

"Well yes, I suppose it has… but… what in the stars are you doing here?!"

"Lemme explain. Well, after all that business with the Count an' all, I headed out to find the perfect world, just like I said I would, remember? So... I went searchin fer a while, and finally I came 'cross this here nice lil spot of a world. 'Dey had tournaments goin every bloomin' day! Jus' nonstop fightin'. I entered in the tournaments under that ol' name an' I competed. I competed fer years and won every time! It was amazin'… I felt like such a winner! Ain't no better idear of a perfect world in me eyes than a place where ye always get to fight!"

"Pray thee, hold a moment… thou know'st each other?" inquired Princess Llhyme, utterly confused.

"Of course we do! We met O'chunks a long time ago when we were trying to save the worlds from seemless destruction, courtesy of the Chaos Heart."

"…I know not this brand of sorcery thou art blathering about, but it matters not. Pray tell, Sir... _O'Chunks.._. why did'st thou insist on victory in thy tourney each year past, yet repeatedly refuse mine hand in marriage?"

"I wasn't in it fer nobody's hand in marriage! I was only doin' this fer the thrill o' the fight! Especially not fer such a pretty girl as ye. Ye don't deserve somebody like me… I'm ugly and dumb!"

"_**What is going on here!?**_" King Ares approached the scene in the center of the ring. "_AHH!_ I see thou succeeded in besting the Black Knight and de-helming him! Congratulations, Mario! Thou art indeed a hero!"

"Aye, he's most definitely a hero!" O'chunks added in. "But I'm afraid 'is work 'ere ain't done yet, yer 'ighness…"

"_Huh_?" everyone else curiously exclaimed.

"Pray tell, Black Knight! Err... _Former Black Knight_! What art thou going on about?"

"Mario may be a hero fer beatin me, that much is fer sure. But there's a greater threat plaguing yer world! An _**evil**_ threat! Me name is O'chunks, by the way."

The masses of villagers still observing the scene all gasped in concern at this news, as did the king.

"What! Wh-what evil dost thou speak'st of?! _Expatiate, Thou'Chunketh!_" the king retorted.

"O'er at Mount Marses! I been investigatin' it fer a while now! I 'unno exactly what it is… but it's powerful! And it's threatening to erupt the volcano! If it succeeds, it'll destroy all of Meridel! And me name is **O'chunks**!"

The spectators, the king, and this time even Princess Llhyme all gasped yet again.

"**WHAAAT?!** Mount Marses!?"

"Thine yonder ridge doth portend to erupt!?" exclaimed Llhyme.

"Ye! I'm telling ye the truth… If Mario an' his friends 'ere don't do something 'bout that creature in the mountain, we're all gonna be burnt to a crisp!"

"I'm sorry... did you just say '_thine yonder ridge doth portend to erupt?_'" Luigi interrupted, trying not to laugh.

"I believe you, O'chunks! What can we do, though!?" inquired Peach.

"You lot gotta get over there stat!"

"Pray thou know'st, Thou'Chunketh, that I am grateful for thine honesty in this foreboding of danger. But if thou art so knowledgeable on this subject, I charge thee, as punishment for thine disregard for the Meridelian Laws of the Knight's Tourney, to accompany these fine heroes in their quest! Dost thou accord? If thou refuseth, I shall have thee incarcerated!" exclaimed King Ares.

"_**OIIIIWUT!?**_ Me? Go!? Well… I DO WANT TO SHOW THAT BEASTIE THE MEANIN' O' A GOOD CHUNKIN'!"

**O'chunks has joined your party!**

**O'chunks's Abilities: A Primer**

**Press 1 to activate O'chunks's ability to lift massively heavy pillars. He can carry them for an unlimited time or distance, so press 1 again to have him drop it. This can be useful for weighing down stuck switches or removing obstacles from your path.**

**In battle, O'chunks can give your enemies a good proper chunking! With his high attack power and defense, he is a valuable asset to any team! Be careful though, as it is very difficult for him to dodge attacks via action commands.**

"Then it's settled! O'chunks will come with us to defeat this... _creature_, you called it?" Peach asked.

"Aye."

"Pray thou accepteth mine apology heroes, but I cannot join thee on thy excursion. Mine quest is fulfilled, I uncovered the identity and motivation of thy elusive Black Knight. I must resume mine place as Princess of Meridel."

_**Princess Llhyme has left your party.**_

"It's okay, Princess Llhyme. We understand. Few people fail to understand that a princess's duty is not as easy as everyone may think! I hope we will be able to meet again some day." replied Peach, smiling sincerely.

"Indeed. Good luck, heroes." Llhyme smiled back.

"Mario, if thou manage to best thy volcanic evil, be sure to return safely to Meridel. It will be proof of thine victory, and surely thou wil'st be named a proper hero of the most prestigious sorts. A hero of our humble world!" exclaimed King Ares.

Mario nodded.

**And so, our heroes set off on the next part of their adventure in the medieval land of Meridel, prepared to take on the evil in Mount Marses, though they had no idea what to expect. However, with O'chunks' sheer brute strength on their team, surely they would be able to best any beast that came their way! **

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	4. Chapter I Part II

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the music used in the youtube video links. All music creds go to the publishers. Thanks!**_

**CHAPTER 1****  
****-Part 2-**

_Meltdown at Mount Marses_

* * *

_[ Music Engaged: watch?v=eV1xumzX8dE ]_

_**Mountain Path**_

The band of heroes set out along the lengthy and foreboding road ahead known as the _Mountain Path. _The barren road had lead them out of Meridel, opposite the direction of Meridel Forest. The road in itself was rather unpromising, although far off in the distance they could see a towering colossus of earth.

"Mount Marses…" Peach declared, referring to the mountain in the distance.

"Sure is big looking…" Luigi said with a flicker of despair. "even from so far away."

"O boy, jus' you wait 'til you git there. Thing is MASSIVE." O'chunks added.

"You've been there before?" Peach inquired.

"Mmhm, I used teh beat boulders fer fun there 'til the dang thing started rumblin' like a starvin' beast's belly!"

"Does the volcano usually rumble like that, O'chunks?" Peach continued to question.

"Naw, only since lately did it ever start doin' that. I mean, I ain't never seen it do that since I been on this world."

"Why do you think it's about to erupt all of a sudden?"

"Dunno, but I has an idear... methinks it got somethin' teh do with that _mysterious shadowy figure_ I been seein' comin' an' goin' from the mouth o' the volcano."

"_Mysterious shadowy figure?_" all three heroes paused in their steps, curiously eyeing their brute friend.

"Yer. I seen 'im a couple o' times when I was boulder bustin'… he was far up the mountain though. Didn't get a good look at 'im."

"And when did this start happening?" Peach asked.

"Errrrrrmmmm… a couple o' weeks ago now, methinks?" O'chunks scratched his head. "E'er since that mountain started a'rumblin' I ain't dared go anywhere near there! Whutever that there creature is, he's fer sure gotta be up to no good, he's gotta be the reason why the mountain be actin' funny all of a sudden, an' I ain't got no interest in gettin' barbecued!"

"I see." the princess pondered.

They continued trekking.

* * *

_**Mount Marses**_

The foursome continued to walk for some time more until at last they had arrived at the foot of Mount Marses. They all gazed up with a mixture of awe and fear at the intimidating earthen structure that towered before them.

"W-w-we gotta go in there?" Luigi stammered.

"Yep." replied Mario.

"W-want me to just keep look out? I'll wait out here."

"Nope."

"A-a-a-a-a-a-are you sure?!"

"Yes, now get your jittery butt up that mountain!" Mario shoved his brother forward, marking the start of their long climb up the mountain. They hoofed and climbed and scaled the rocky surface as quickly as they could, remembering to remain alert for any baddies that might try to assault them. Fortunately, the entire area seemed rather desolate, so beating up bad guys didn't look like it was going to end up being a necessary addition to the heroes' already difficult task. That being said, they also had to keep in mind that this volcano could potentially erupt at any moment, and that in itself was not exactly the easiest bit of stress to manage. Despite this, they carried on.

"What makes you so sure we'll find the sword in the mountain?" Peach wondered aloud as she struggled for air.

"Sword? What sword yeh talkin' 'bout?" O'chunks chimed in as he hoofed.

"Oh, right. We didn't tell you about the sword. We're looking for a special sword hidden somewhere in this world." she explained.

"_OIII WHUUUUT!?_" O'chunks stopped in his tracks. "You mean the _Legendary Sword o' the Mountain_!?"

"Um… I beg your pardon?" Peach raised an eyebrow.

"Legend has it that there's sum sword o' great power hidden somewhere in this here mountain! I went huntin' for it a couple times meself! They say the sword can slice through just about anythin', and has magical powers or summat! I couldn't pass up a weapon like that, so I went lookin' fer it."

"Hmmm…" the Princess scratched her chin. "Mario, do you think its possible that the sword of the legend is the same sword we're looking for?"

"Well that would make sense, wouldn't it? I can't imagine there would be two super duper magical swords in the same world." Mario quipped.

"Hold the fortune cookies… why are ye folks lookin' fer the sword? An' how did ye even know about it if ye ain't from 'round here?"

"Because that sword is actually an ancient magical relic, O'chunks. It belongs to a Star Guardian! That's why we're here, to find the sword and bring it back to Merlon. We have to find all twelve relics to save the world!" Peach exclaimed.

"_OIIIII WHUUUUUUUUUUT!?_" O'chunks boasted again.

"Yea you see, Merlon searched through this fancy rainbow book for answers, and he found a prophecy… it basically stated that we would have to find twelve magical objects and gather them together in the temple, and that it would reveal the way to save the world! The first relic is a magical sword, and its somewhere in this world!" Luigi added.

"To put it coarsely." Peach contested.

"Well whoop me backside an' hand me to me momma…"

The heroes continued up the mountain, which proved itself to be a taxing journey. About half of the way up, Luigi was already complaining of his feet hurting, and the princess had abandoned her heels a few miles back.

"OUCH… I'm covered in soot, and I'm pretty sure that plant I got caught in a few boulders ago was poison ivy!" Luigi complained as he wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.

"Oh hush, we're almost there." Mario gawped.

Out of nowhere, a massive tremor billowed from deep within the mountain, knocking the four of them to the ground.

"WHAT WAS THAT!?" Luigi cried.

"The volcano! It's getting closer to erupting!" Exclaimed Peach.

"Aye, we need teh hurry!"

The heroes mustered themselves to their feet and pressed on at a hastened pace, making their way up the volcano as fast as their painful and exhausted feet could carry them.  
After several more of these dangerous quakes and plenty more minutes of scaling the mountainside, they finally found themselves at the mouth of Mount Marses. Looking down into the volcano's maw, they could see a massive bubbling cauldron of lava staring back at them.

"How do we get down inside **there**!?" Peach choked, trying to make herself audible over the deafening sound of the boiling lava.

"Iffin' I remember correct, there should be a passage 'bout a quarter mile down er so, on this side o' the mountain! Look fer a cave entrance!" O'chunks yelled out in response.

The four searched fervently for such a passage and luckily it only took them a good few minutes before Mario had spotted it.

"It's here! I've found it!" he waved over to his friends in the distance.

* * *

_[ Music Engaged: __ watch?v=06H_6oI4EK4__ ]_

_**Inside Mount Marses**_

Entering through the mountain's passage was surprisingly refreshing to the heroes, as the cave proved to be rather cool and the air was moist; there wasn't a particle of soot in sight, much to Luigi's pleasure. The narrow stone corridors of the passage were illuminated only by the faint flicker of torches, which had clearly been there for many years. The passage lead the heroes to an enormously daunting spiral staircase, made of nothing but cracked and crumbling stones. The staircase spiraled its way deep down into the heart of the mountain, where lava was clearly present at the bottom, as indicated by a red glow emanating from the depths of the pit.

"Are you sure this is safe, O'chunks? It looks dangerous down there… and it smells awful." Peach asked as a look of concern swept across her face.

"Yea and this staircase looks like it's ready to crumble any minute!" Luigi perished the thought.

"Safe er not, it's the only way into the mountain."

Mario nodded.

"O'chunks… maybe you should walk behind everyone else… y'know… just in case the stairs can't hold your weight….." Luigi suggested.

"OI GREENIE, YOU CALLIN' ME FAT?!"

Not a moment sooner could Luigi have suggested that when the stairs began to give out and started collapsing beneath their feet.

"**AHHHH!** _RUNNNN!_" Peach screamed, making a bee-line down the stairs.

The others followed, sprinting down the stairs at full speed. Each stair steadily crumbled behind them, threatening to catch up to the fleeing heroes and send them falling deep down through the stony crevasse to their dooms.  
Luckily enough, all four of them made it to the bottom just as the staircase completely gave out... but they were trapped.  
Before them they noticed an entrance to what appeared to be the heart of the volcano. As they entered, they were greeted by the blinding red glow of a cascading lava river as well as an intensely uncomfortable blazing heat, which felt as though it might burn their skin clean off. The massive cove they were now in was brightly illuminated by the red hot light of the magma, and the air was so hot and saturated with smoke it had nearly made the search for the sword impossible. Nevertheless, the heroes braved these harsh conditions in their pursuit for the Star Guardian's relic.  
They didn't find much other than a bunch of rocks and more magma. Peach was finding it difficult to remain focused in such unbearable heat. She was imagining the deadly river of lava as a crystal clear oasis, the rocky ground as a lush bed of grass…

"Toadsworth… I'd like a platter of my most favoritest little scones, please…"

"What." Luigi turned to the princess.

"Oh, wh-what? Um nothing… was just thinking aloud!" she brushed it off. The princess wasn't normally one to fantasize as a means of escaping from the reality of the "adventurous" task at hand, even such a cruel one as this. But she was at her wits end… she was covered in dirt, her feet were beat up, and she was for the most part delusional from being oxygen deprived. They all were.

"_Wait, what's that!?_" Luigi blurted out of the blue.

He pointed over in the distance, where he had spotted a massive sword impaled into the earth on a rocky island in the middle of the lava river. Mario, Peach and O'chunks quickly noticed it as well.

"It's the _Sword of Fire_!" exclaimed Mario.

"It is! You were right Mario, it was in here!" Peach added.

Mario smiled smugly. "Told you."

The sword was not a great distance from them, but a river of lava divided them from it. Even though it was their only obstacle, they had absolutely no idea how they would manage to get around it. They also could see that the sword was emanating a strange red glow.

"How are we supposed to get over there?!" shouted Peach.

"Ey princess, you jus' let me an' me chunks 'ere take care o' that!"

O'chunks approached a nearby boulder. He wrapped his arms snugly around it and with a mighty heave, hurled it into the air, sending it soaring across the cavern and lodging itself square into the lava pool. He continued this same process repeatedly with several more boulders, hurling one after the other into the lava until a pathway was successfully formed from the rocky land they stood on to the island with the sword.

"_Whoa! _Impressive work, O'chunks!" Peach clapped. "Let's go then, shall we?!"

The heroes hopped their away across the newly formed pathway like stepping stones until they landed on the rocky formation with the sword. Upon closer inspection, the heroes realized the sword was confined to the earth it resided in by heavy iron chains tied to the hilt. The chains appeared to have several little magic symbols emblazoned upon them. These symbols looked red-hot to the touch, and were giving off the same glow as the sword itself.

"W-what? What is this? The sword is chained..." Peach stated, clearly frustrated.

They were confused; O'chunks attempted to pull the sword out of the earth regardless, but to no avail, and ended up suffering a nasty burn.

"**AIIYEEEE!** CHUNKS ME BACKSIDE! Blasted thing sure is hot!" he cried, blowing on his hands and furiously waving them back and forth.

"Careful, O'chunks! It looks like the sword's magic is in effect… which would mean we can't touch it without the risk of getting burned. But why? And how?" pondered Peach. "Do you think these symbols have something to do with it?" she asked, pointing at the runic symbols on the chains.

_[ Music Stopped ]_

"_**That would be my doing.**_"

"Hm? Did you say something, Mario?" Peach asked, turning around.

"Wasn't me…"

"_**It was me.**_" Billowed an otherworldly voice from nowhere; suddenly, a conspicuous dark fog amassed in the air before the heroes. It continued to congeal before dispersing in a swift blast, leaving a dimensional rift surrounding the area. The rift opened and closed quickly before dissipating, allowing a figure to emerge from it. Before them now levitated a dark, burly looking creature, with glowing yellow eyes, a block shaped head, and a fiery antenna. The creature looked as though it were fabricated of pure darkness.

"_**Destruction will be your end.**_"

"Excuse me? Who and what are you?" asked Peach.

"_**I am Destruction. The master has ordered your annihilation.**_"

"Are _you_ the one responsible for chaining the sword to the ground..?" she impatiently questioned.

"_**Soon the sword's magic will infuse the volcano with enough fire energy, causing it to erupt.**_"

Just then, the earth shook violently beneath their feet.

"_**There is nothing you can do to stop it. Your end will come soon.**_"

"Mario! He's threatening to destroy Meridel! We've got to do something!"

"Oi! If I got anythin' teh do wit it, this bozo's about teh git a **REAL CHUNKIN!**" O'chunks pounded his fists.

_Mario engaged Destruction in battle!_

_[ Music Engaged: watch?v=g5vW6WG8h5I ]_

Mario began with a good forceful head jump. O'chunks followed with a powerful bash to the shadow fiend's head with _Chunk Punch_.

The creature barely flinched.

"_**You are foolish to oppose me. The sword's power is one with my own now.**_"

Destruction raised his hands in the air, his power causing the sword to violently shake, rattling its chains and emitting blaring flames. Destruction's hands ignited in response to absorbing a portion of the sword's magic, and after gathering energy for a few seconds, he unleashed a fiery beam of heat upon Mario and his party member.

"**OWOWOW! HOTTTT!**" Shouted O'chunks.

After a little more back and forth (and several burn marks later) Mario and O'chunks could quite plainly see that their efforts alone were not enough to take down the vile demon.

Mario pulled out two mushrooms from his pack and tossed one to O'chunks before munching down and restoring some health points.

"What can we do?" Mario shrugged at O'chunks. "We need a way to protect ourselves from that fire magic he's using."

"Yeh leave that teh me lil man!" O'chunks waddled over to a nearby boulder, significantly larger than himself, and grabbed it. He stationed the boulder in front of himself and Mario, blocking Destruction's line of sight.

Destruction attempted to throw a fireball at Mario, but the boulder absorbed the blow.

"_**Drats. Your boulder has foiled my magic.**_"

"_Let's finish this guy!_" exclaimed Mario as he pulled out an Ice Storm from his pack. He held the frosty mote outstretched toward the demon; the item then conjured a concentrated frigid wind that shot forth at Destruction, who appeared highly affected by the icy gale. Cringing against the cold, Destruction's flaring hands and antenna diffused into a weak smoke, and soon he was covered in frost - and eventually frozen solid.

O'chunks lifted the boulder that he had used to shield them, cocked his arms back behind his head, and with a mighty thrust and a loud grunt, hurled it at full strength at Destruction.

The boulder struck the frozen demon, shattering him into a million pieces.

_[ Music Stopped ]_

Mario and O'chunks reunited with Peach and Luigi and the four rejoiced.

"Way to go, Bro! You did it!" Luigi smiled.

"Yeah! That was some pretty clever thinking, O'chunks!" Peach added.

"_**Not so fast.**_"

In another cloud of smoke and dimensional energy, Destruction reappeared, levitating just a few feet above the Sword of Fire which was still chained in its place.

"_**The master's orders must be seen through. The destruction of Meridel is imminent.**_"

"And just who EXACTLY is your master?" demanded Peach.

The demon ignored the Princess's question. "_**Montis de Marses, Quin Voro Incendia**_."

The demon recited some strange words, his otherworldy voice laced with mystical energy. The words he spoke resonated loudly through the volcanic chamber. Upon speaking them, a deafening crash of thunder boomed from overhead, and a violent crackle of lightning preceeded a terrible earthquake that immediately followed. The quaking began to steadily grow more intense, and the mountain began to crumble all around them.

"_**Fire will bring destruction.**_"

Destruction then vanished in another cloud of shadows.

_[ Music Engaged: __ watch?v=EbS4rHOrMB4__ ]_

The Sword of Fire shook uncontrollably in its post, the chains that were holding it in place rattling fervently as if desperate to break, and the red glow of the runes intensifying to a blinding hue. Finally the chains gave way, shattering, and the sword ejected a deep red pulse into the rocky ground in which it resided before ejecting itself out through the mouth of the volcano at lightning speed.

"**THE SWORD!**" Cried Mario.

"We need to get out of here, NOW!" Luigi shouted over the noise of the chaos that raged around all around them, tugging on Mario's sleeve.

Mario nodded, and the heroes began hastily searching for a way out of the volcano, taking an unfamiliar variety of corridors while avoiding all matter of falling rock and gushing lava.  
The earth quaked more and more violently with each passing second, prompting the heroes to move more and more swiftly.

"WE'RE NOT GONNA MAKE IT!" cried Luigi. "WE'RE FRIED!"

"MARIO, LOOK! I think its the exit!" Peach shouted, pointing down a long straight tunnel toward a light at the end.

They sprinted through the rocky corridor, at the end of which they hoped was the exit to the mountain. The surrounding earth crumbled with rapidly escalating frequency and streams of lava burst forth from the walls as the internal structure of the mountain grew increasingly unstable.

"WE'RE…. NOT…. GONNA… MAKE… IIIIIITTTT" Luigi cried while they dashed for the exit. Just then, a titanic boulder fell in on the tunnel, blocking their only way out.

"I TOLD YOU WE WERENT GONNA MAKE IT!" Luigi's eyes swelled with tears. "WE'RE GONNA DIE!"

"NOT TODAY LIL GREEN FELLER!" O'chunks began whirling his fist rapidly, gaining as much momentum as possible before unleashing a powerful punch to the boulder. The boulder shattered to pieces, and the heroes ran the rest of the way out, making it out of the volcano just in time.

They made it about a quarter of the way down the volcano when an uncomfortable silence took over. The volcano had gone dormant for just a brief moment before the silence was interrupted by the volcano's long-awaited eruption. They looked back and watched as Mount Marses began spewwing tidal amounts of lava. The encroaching river of magma threatened to incinerate the heroes if they were incapable of outrunning it as it crept up behind them.

"_Everybody! Grab on!_" shouted Peach, running ahead of the group and directing herself straight for a ramp-shaped nook off the side of the mountain.

The three each grabbed a part of the princess's dress as she determinedly dove off the nook and gracefully wielded her umbrella, landing them safely on the ground below at the mountain's base.

"Clever plan princess... but what do you intend to do about THAT!?" exclaimed Luigi, pointing back up the mountain where an impending molten doom came hurling down at them.

"Mario! The sword!" Peach was pointing at the Sword of Fire, which was stuck in the ground right beside Mario.

Mario grabbed it by the hilt, and successfully extracted it from the earth. "I don't know how to use it!" he exclaimed.

"Just… try something! _Anything!_" she demanded.

Peach, Luigi, and O'chunks feared for their lives. Mario held the sword up to the incoming wave of lava, and with a fearsome authority in his voice, shouted "_By the Sword of Fire, I command you to __**STOP!**_"

_[ Music Stopped ]_

Surprisingly, it worked. The enormous molten wave, which was just inches away from searing our heroes alive, froze itself in time. Mario, Peach, Luigi and O'chunks all feverishly eyed the frozen wave with paranoia, remaining utterly still and half expecting it to at any moment betray the command of the sword and incinerate them anyway. Luckily, that didn't happen. Instead, it turned to solid stone in midair.

They all fell to the ground and sighed deeply. "_Thank goodness._" They breathed out simultaneously.

After that, they just sat there for about a good ten minutes. They needed a moment to thank their lucky stars and catch their breath before getting up and heading back to Meridel to see the king.

Upon arriving back at town, they headed straight for the castle.

* * *

_[ Music Engaged: __ watch?v=qXkFQQL3Exk__ ]_

_**Meridel**_

"**HALT! WHO GOES THERE!**" shouted Marvin and Frank the Guard Toads. Princess Peach instinctively held her ears.

"**IT'S ME!** Remember? Your princess…" Peach frustratedly replied.

"**PRINCESS PEACH! HAIL HER HIGHNESS! WHY DO YOU LOOK AS IF YOU'VE BEEN ROLLING AROUND IN THE DIRT? DOTH THOU NEED'ST A ROYAL BATH?**"

"Well... I wouldn't be opposed..."

"_Ahem._" Mario nudged the princess.

"Right, later! Right now we need to see the king!" she exclaimed.

"**LOWER THE GATES!**" the Guard Toads shouted as they stomped their spears on the ground in unison, bringing the castle gates to lower.

Marvin escorted the group through the corridors of the castle and up to the throne room.

"**YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS, PRESENTING THE PRINCESS PEACH OF MUSHROOM KINGDOM!**... and her oddly dressed friends."

"_Princess!?_ And yonder troupe! Thou art alive! Pray tell, did'st thou defeat the evil dwelling in the mountain?!" inquired King Ares.

"Indeed we did, your highness. It turns out, O'chunks was right. There was a strange demon haunting the volcano who tried to make the volcano erupt using the power of the Sword of Fire. We bested him, and we retrieved the sword!"

Mario pulled out the sword to show the king as proof.

"THY LEGENDARY SWORD O' LEGEND!?" the king gasped. "Then thou hast provided a most marvelous service to this humble kingdom! Heroes... consider us forever in your debt. And please, keep the sword, as a token of Meridel's gratitude!"

"Thank you muchly, your highness!" Princess Peach smiled sincerely.

"Thank you, your highness." Mario, Luigi, and O'chunks said in unison as they bowed before the king.

"Ummm... but weren't we going to keep the sword either way? I mean we kinda need it to save the world…" Luigi whispered to his friends.

"Shhh! Smile and pay your respects to the king!" Peach rebutted, still smiling at the king.

"**FATHER!** Hath word of thine dejected division recrudesced?!" came a familiar voice in a familiar fiery tone. Princess Llhyme then burst violently through the doors into the throne room. "Peach!? **HEROES?!** Thou hast returned! Doth this mean…?"

"Yes! We saved Meridel from a fiery fate." said Luigi.

Llhyme's expression changed to a smile. "I am most impressed! Thou truly art heroes. Please, heroes, I beg of thee. Take this as a token of my gratitude, and on behalf of the gratitude of the entire Meridel Kingdom!"

Llhyme snapped her fingers, conjuring an amulet in a sparkly flash of green light. From the amulet hung a rich emerald with a tiny crown engraved upon it. Mario took it in his hands, observing the green gleam that emanated from the jewel whenever the light hit it.

"'Tis an old heirloom of mine. It belonged to my mother before I. That amulet hath special powers; use it in battle when thou art weary to restore five health and party power each. But beware, thy amulet's power require a substantial amount of time to recharge thyself. As such, thou may only use it once per battle."

_[ Music Engaged: __ watch?v=3grFvXmKDYg__ ]_

_**Mario received the Emerald Amulet!  
The Emerald Amulet is a "Special Item", and can be accessed in combat under the "Special Items" subscreen. Using the amulet will require a turn, but will restore 5 HP and PP to both Mario and his current Party Member! Use it wisely though, as it can only be used once per battle!**_

"Thank you very much, Princess Llhyme. And thanks for your help earlier." said Mario politely, respectfully bowing.

"We will always remember you by the amulet." Peach beamed.

"Mm. Prithy thee visit again sometime. Perhaps when thou hath a free moment from saving the world." Llhyme smiled brightly.

"Here, heroes. Don thee a most prestigious weapon. I hope to see thou put it to good use. Mayhap in the Knight's Tourney! HWA HWA HYA HAA HORK!" King Ares handed the sword to Mario and bowed before the heroes before resuming his place on his throne.

_[ Music Engaged: __ watch?v=U-IwOxZ5mzA__ ]_

_**CONGRATULATIONS, YOU GOT THE SWORD OF FIRE!**_

**The power of the sword's magic courses through your veins, adding its power to yours and increasing your Star Power to 1!**

**END OF CHAPTER**

_**And so, Mario, Peach, and Luigi successfully completed their first adventure, retrieving the Sword of Fire from the volcanic Mount Marses and besting the dangerous demon named Destruction, and adding O'chunks to their forces. But, although the heroes were overjoyed that Meridel was now safe from the volcano, they were still hauntingly unsatisfied with the many questions that remained unanswered. Who was Destruction, and where did he come from? Who was this ominous "master" that he was referring to? What dangers lay ahead of them now that the enemy was aware of their actions? All this and more they felt were soon to be answered, and with the first relic safely in their possession, the heroes set off underway back to Flipside.**_


	5. Chapter I Interlude

**Chapter 1 Interlude**

**_Flipside_**

"**WELL WOULDJA LOOK AT THAT!!!!!!!!!!**" An elderly voice billowed.

Inside Merlon's house, Mario, Peach, Luigi, and O'chunks stood as Merlon carefully observed the Sword of Fire, turning it over several times in his hand and intently observing the tiny etchings on the hilt with some sort of magic magnifying device.

"Yes.....… **Yes!!!!!** This is most definitely the Sword of Fire!!" He exclaimed.

"Well DUHH!!! It almost blew up an entire town!" Beamed Luigi.

"Let's bring this to the Temple of the Stars at once!!"

**_Temple of the Stars_**

Entering the sanctity of the Temple of the Stars once again was rather comforting to our heroes. After all of the recent chaos and discomfort of being in that volcano, the temple felt like a 5 star resort.

"_Right!_ We need to find the proper pedestal on which to place the sword, thus offering it as a tribute to the Heavenly Knight.. According to the Libri Astrum - which I have been studying voraciously since your departure! – each pedestal has its own unique, named symbol. So we need the aries symbol…… hmm aries symbol, aries symbol.." Merlon pondered as he made his way around the circle of platforms, searching for a proper match to the symbol in his tome.

"**_AH HAH!!_** I've got it! Aries symbol! Place the sword here, Mario!"

Mario approached the pedestal, pulled out the sword, and gently placed it upon the marbled surface…

They waited and watched in silence.

"……Sooooo… What happens now??" Asked Luigi.

"Well, according to the book, the Heavenly Knight should accept our offer, descend from the Heavens, and add his power to yours!!"

..............silence.

"Nothing's happening!" Exclaimed Peach.

The silence was broken when the sword suddenly began to glow a gentle red - lifting itself from the pedestal - and levitating a few feet up in the air, slowly straightening itself out so its point was directed toward the ceiling. The heroes watched in anticipation, but were greatly startled when the sword suddenly burst with an outward light, far more intense than the glow just moments before.

A red beam ejected itself upwards toward the ceiling. It was too bright for them to look directly at, instead shielding their eyes and waiting for the light to dissipate. The beam was quite hot, raising the room's temperature almost instantaneously, and causing smoke to emanate from the area of the ceiling where it was burning.

When the beam ended, the sword continued to patiently levitate at its post; another aries symbol was now visible on the ceiling where the beam had struck, burned into the stone by the sword's magic. From the symbol came a divine light, spotlighting the sword. Some clouds gathered, and what looked as if it were a mini piece of heaven now occupied the air above the sword, complete with a patch of blue sky.

A figure congealed amidst the heavenly spot, amassing in a glob of light energy. It manifested into what had appeared as a handsome, muscular knight; complete with a set of Roman armor, a shield, and a featureless face, which was just a blank pallet of white luminescence.

"It's …….... beautiful………..…." Drooled Peach, the rest of the heroes' mouths hanging agape with blank stares of awe.

"I…. I hear angels singing…!!!" Luigi managed to let the words escape from his wide open mouth.

Merlon bowed gracefully to the floor, looking up in reverence at the holy figure.

"Your holiness…"

Despite the knight's face being featureless, you could tell his gaze was fixed upon the bowing Merlon.

"Yes… We have brought it back for you, your greatness… These four here, they are heroes! They wish to serve you and your council…"

Within the bouts of silence between Merlon's speaking, the four could assume that the angel was communicating with the wizard telepathically.

"Indeed. They plan to retrieve _ALL_ of the relics… and gather them here. An evil has beseeched upon our world, I am afraid…" Merlon spoke with humble respect.

More silence.

"The time has come, I am afraid. The council was wise to set this plan in action. Never in my worst nightmares had I imagined it would actually come to this, but here we are."

"What's he saying?" Inquired Luigi, breaking the heroes' silence.

"He speaks of an ancient order… an order formed by a union between the Coucil of Guardians and my ancestors. The order was charged to set up a "_backup plan_", essentially a worst case scenario, of sorts. A secret weapon for our world, crafted by the Gods; only for use in case a certain ancient evil awoke again. I'm afraid it has…"

"What ancient evil!?" Exclaimed the princess.

"I am not entirely sure about it myself. He is incapable of telling me… That knowledge is most likely forbidden from being shared with mortals. All I am told is that it is powerful - **_very_** powerful - and it is ultimately up to you heroes to destroy it!"

"Well we knew that part already…" Luigi added.

"How come he doesn't tell us all this himself?" Questioned Peach.

"The ability of telepathy among the divine; commonly referred to by my ancestors as Spirit Speech; was not practiced by many, if any… But my ancestors were a group who had in fact mastered it. I have inherited that ability."

"Ohhh.."

" 'ey… He sure do got a pair o' chunks on him, dunny!? Make me chunks look like wee lil beans…"

The angel's gaze instantly shifted to O'chunks.

"Ahahahah…" Laughed Merlon.

"Whut?!"

"He likes you!" Merlon expressed with amusement.

"Really!?? Me!?" O'chunks looked surprised.

"Yes. In fact, he seems to have a gravitation to you."

O'chunks blushed. "Oh, gawsh… Well, I ain't nuthin special… Just helpin' these 'ere heroes do their job! But wouldja fancy that? An angel that likes ME!! O' all the chunkin' goofs in this world…"

"Oh goodness!! Brace yourself, O'chunks!! The Guardian has decided to bestow upon you a portion of his power!!! Oh my stars… This is quite an honor indeed, really!"

"OIIII whut!?!? M-me?!? But I don-"

"I cannot believe I am about to witness a true display of a Guardian's power in action!"

O'chunks attempted to protest, unsure if he was deserving of such power, or if he even wanted it. But before he could even have the chance, the knight began to _hum,_ almost as if he were chanting some heavenly tune.

As the spirit hummed, magic sparks began accumulating in the air above O'chunks, gathering light and energy. The gathered energy formed a sphere of pure light, emanating several multi-chromatic sparks.

"I-I feel funny..!!" O'chunks exclaimed, the sparks continually falling upon him and spreading through his skin in rainbow trails.

The sparks continued to rain upon O'chunks until the ball of light had completely deteriorated.

**  
O'chunks is upgraded to Star-rank!**

**His strength is now increased, allowing him to lift heavier objects and break bigger obstacles. **

**Attack power goes up by 1 and defense by 2.**

"Marvelous, simply marvelous!" Exclaimed a giddy Merlon.

O'chunks posed a modest stance. "Tell the spirit thanks, eh?"

"He says to take the gift with honor. He assures me it will assist you in the direst of times. The knight also thanks you three as well." Merlon continued, speaking to Mario, Peach and Luigi.

The knight's gaze now switched to Mario, looking upon the hero with an aura of respect.

Extending his hand, the Sword of Fire flew over into his grip.

"The Guardian is going to add his power to yours, Mario. This will grant you a magic spell, which will require Star Power to use. I will explain all of this later. For now, we must pay our respects to the Guardian!"

Sword in hand, the guardian gathered more energy at the tip of his sword, magic coursing throughout the relic in spiral formations. He performed some strange ritualistic gestures with the sword, gathering more energy, and then finally raising it so that the tip was just above Mario's head. Red magic swirled around Mario as sparks ascended from his skin. Feeling empowered, Mario raised his hands in the air, receiving the Guardian's power.

**You have received the Guardian Power of Fire!**

**The Heavenly Knight has added his power to yours, increasing your Star Power to 2 and teaching you the magic spell Inferno!**

**Inferno costs 2 Star Power, and summons fiery chaos upon the battlefield, striking all opponents for 7 damage each!**

The Guardian focused upon Merlon again.

"The Guardian thanks you for retrieving the relic from that evil demon. He must go now, but he wishes you luck on the rest of your quest."

Merlon silently thanked the Guardian for his gifts and for visiting them.

The Heavenly Knight placed his sword gently back down on its pedestal, and levitated back up into his little patch of heaven.

"Good bye mister knight!!! Thank you!" called out Peach as the Guardian began dissipating back into light energy, ascending through his devout portal as the light closed.

"Quick, heroes! Let us waste no time!" Cried out Merlon. "To the Tome of Stars for the next relic…"

Setting down his large book on the center podium of the temple, Merlon began rapidly flipping through pages.

"Ah! I've got it! The next passage:

**_Ring of Riches, such a gem  
With endless wealth thou doth condemn  
Those who greed and those who need  
Ever black with evil's seed_**"

When he finished reciting the passage, the tome once again burst with illumination, this time with a rich green light. The book lifted into the air, flapping its pages furiously, the light growing ever brighter and emitting emerald sparks. As the sparkles fell, the book took on a diamond-esque apperance, shimmering like a thousand jewels when the moonlight from the skylight hit it. Next, the tome exuded a mighty green beam, firing outside the confines of the Temple of the Stars. There was a loud boom, a small quake, and at once, the book was again at rest on the podium as if none of it ever happened.

"Hmmmm… Let us make haste, heroes!" Merlon swept the large book under his arm, carrying it snuggly as they ran out of the temple.

**_Flipside_**

The 5 adventurers paced their gaze back and forth, scanning the town for any changes.

"Nothing." Said Luigi. "I wonder where this one appeared at."

"Well, as usual, I will leave the adventuring work up to you heroes and get back to my house to continue studying this book! I bid you farewell - and good luck - on your next journey! Come to my house as soon as you've retrieved the next relic!!"

And with that, Merlon was off.

"Okay… So I wonder where that door is!"

"I can't believe Merlon just left us! At least last time he had that psychic thingy that led us to the door..!" Exclaimed Luigi.

They began searching Flipside for any new out-of-place doors. Even though these doors in theory should stick out like a sore thumb, they were actually frustratingly difficult to find.

"THIS IS HOPELESS!!!!! I need a tasty tonic……" Mario was getting extremely impatient after an excessive amount of time spent looking for the door.

The group headed down to level 1 for a round of tonics at the item shop.

"HellooooOOoooo! Welcome to Flipside FoooOOOOOooooods! How are yooOOOOooooOOu?"

"Hello! We would like four Tasty Tonics, please!" Smiled Peach.

"Very well! That'll be ten coins!"

"Here you go."

"Thank yooooOooooooOOOoou!"

The heroes sat around enjoying their tonics.

"Do you really think we can afford to waste time like this? I mean the world IS about to end.." Pondered Peach.

"The world isn't going to end in the next 5 minutes! And besides… I need a break from looking for that stupid door!! It's like nowhere to be found."

"DoooOOOoooor? What dooooOOOooor? Forgive me… I could not help but oooOOOoooverhear!"

"Oh… It's nothing… It's just this magical door we're looking for. It's supposed to take us to one of the other worlds. We're kind of on a quest…"

"What a coooOOOOOOOoooincidence! This funky doooOOOOOOooooor appeared in my stOOOoooooooorage room! Perhaps you heroes could investigate?"

"Umm sure" Said Mario, hopping off his stool and approaching the storeroom. He opened up the door and peaked in.

"Guys! C'mere! I think this is it!"

Hopping off their stools, Peach, Luigi and O'chunks ran over to the storeroom as well. They went inside, and standing right in the middle of the room was a large, green door, decorated with marble statues, chalices, checkerboard designs and gems.

"This has gotta be it!"

"Oh yeah… That's it…"

The heroes opened up the large green doors and were greeted by a blinding light, which they strode confidently into.

"HerooooOOOOOOOooes?" The shopkeeper walked into the storeroom, confused by the group's disappearance. "I wooooOOOOoonder where they went…."

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	6. Chapter II Part I

**CHAPTER 2**  
** -Part 1-**

_**The Hazy Hedges**_

When the light faded the heroes found themselves in a garden, surrounded by tall hedges and in front of them was a large fountain depicting a beautiful maiden.

"Ooooh, she's pretty." Said Luigi, staring in awe at the fountain.

"I wonder where we are now?" Peach inquired.

_**"UGHHHH THAT BITCH!"**_

"…What was that?" The heroes turned in confusion and into the secluded area of garden they were in ran Mimi.

"Oh my gosh! It's Mimi!" Peach exclaimed. "Is something wrong? You look upset!"

"YES something is VERY WRONG! **WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS TAKING MY MANSION FROM ME!**"

"Excuse me?" Mario asked. The heroes were lost.

"Delilah! She just bought my mansion from me! She payed the First Bank of Mimi an offer they couldn't refuse and now she has my mansion!" Mimi looked sad. "It's nice to see you all by the way.."

"Well I'm so sorry Mimi.. but if someone had more money than you, there's nothing you can do about that. They bought it fair and square.."

"No.. you don't understand. That's _IMPOSSIBLE!_"

"Come again?"

"I designed this world completely around ME! The money, the economy, the bank.. everything. There's no way anybody else would be able to get more money than me in THIS world… unless she.." Mimi trailed off her words.

"Unless she?" Peach asked, the three heroes waiting in anticipation.

"Nevermind! We have to get my mansion back! Please, won't you guys help me? I know I've been a bit of a meanie in the past but I swear I'm over all that now! ...with the count gone, my life has been rather empty and meaningless."

The heroes sympathized. After all, none of Count Bleck's minions were really BAD.. just misunderstood. The heroes could see that they were all trying to turn their lives around and make names for themselves. And that was enough to convince them to give them all a chance to be good guys.

"'Ey Mimi.. Long time no see eh? Join the club, yeh.. I just got kicked out o' me world too.. lost everythin' I had. Kinda missin' the count these days, y'know?"

"Yeah…" Mimi frowned.

Awkward silence.

"Anyways. Everything was perfectly fine until that hussy showed up. Ever since she got here and my special lucky ring went missing, everything's gone from bad to worse."

This piqued the heroes' interest. "Lucky ring?"

"Oopsie.." Mimi covered her mouth with her hands.

"Mimi tell us about the ring!" Mario exclaimed.

"NO! Get your own!"

"MIMI…. The world's are at stake! Including this one. If you don't help us find the ring, all the rubees in the world won't mean a thing."

Mimi's jaw dropped. "NOT MY PRECIOUS RUBEES!"

"So tell us!"

"Okay okay! Back when I stumbled upon this world, I started causing a little.. trouble, hehe. I had to figure out a way to get everything to work to my advantage. I mean, the world was mostly empty, but if I wanted to make sure I wouldn't ever lose all the things I love, like my hunky Life Guards, my big fancy house, and this garden we're in... then-"

"This is your garden!" Luigi asked, shocked.

"Well part of it…. It's actually the Hazy Hedges - a really big hedge maze I made to keep out unwanted freaks. It's almost impossible to navigate the maze and make your way back to the mansion. I mean, unless you're me that is!" Mimi was smiling big. "AAANYways as I was saying. Things weren't going too well, the natural race here, the Glambots, were somehow completely unfooled by my disguises! It was the most infuriating thing! But THEN.. I stumbled across this ring. It was a beautiful ring with a beautiful emerald.. I couldn't just leave it! It was so pretty! Emerald is my birthstone, you know."

"So what happened once you found this ring?"

"Somehow, I started making so much money! I don't know how it happened, all I know is that the ring I found is LUCKY! Once that ring came along, I became super super rich and everything worked out PERFECTLY. And NOW, ever since the ring has gone missing, look what's happened! I'm broke!" Mimi began to cry.

"That ring is a magical relic, Mimi. It has special powers. In fact, it's one of twelve that we need to find to save the world, so we really need to get it back."

"I KNEW it was magical!"

"So can you take us to the mansion? We need to look for the ring there."

"Good luck… if Delilah's found it, you'll never be able to beat her army of Glambots."

"Okay, who is Delilah and what the heck is a Glambot?" Mario asked.

"Delilah…. she thinks she's so hot. Just because she's the cheerleading captain. Her Glambots are these '_pretty_' girls who follow her everywhere she goes and do everything she says. I don't get it! It's like they're all robots and she's their creator. That's why I call them the Glambots."

"Hmmmm…." Peach pondered for a moment. "How hard can it be to defeat a bunch of unskilled girly girls?"

Mario, Luigi, and O'chunks all looked over at the princess and stared.

"I mean … I'm just saying….."

They continued to stare.

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT LOOK! I might be a princess but I CAN KICK BUTT!"

"….SO Mimi." Luigi started. "Can you take us to the mansion? Pretty pretty please?"

"Yeah, I guess. Whatever. But you're not keeping my ring if we find it.."

Peach and Luigi looked over to Mario with a look of disdain.

"Deal."

"WHAT?" Luigi and Peach exclaimed in unison.

"I said….. _deal_" Mario gave his comrades a look that said "Just go with it" and so Luigi and Peach just nodded.

"Well let's go then."

**Mimi has joined your party!**

**Mimi's Abilities: A Primer**

**Pressing 1 will bring up the Copycat Cursor, allowing you to select an enemy currently on the screen for Mimi to mimic.**

**Mimi's many powers related to rubees can make her a deceptively formidable foe in combat!**

"This way!" Mimi led the way. They walked past the large fountain and around some beautiful flowerbeds; there were sculptures spontaneously placed all over the garden. Podiums with large depictions of black and white chess pieces on them could be seen everywhere, or some of them had faces. Areas of the hedge maze floor were cobblestone, while others were marble and then some were smooth, shiny stone checkerboard patterns.

"Jeeze, Mimi. You sure do have expensive taste…" Luigi had said at one point while traversing the many endless tunnels of hedges.

"Uh oh…." Mimi stopped.

All the heroes looked over at her, expressions of worry sweeping across their faces. "Uh oh?" they exclaimed in unison.

"…I don't recognize this part of the hedges at all…."

Mario fell to the ground. "WHAT!"

"Erm, I don't know how she did it but I think Delilah changed the hedge maze to keep us away from the mansion." Mimi stated.

"How could she do something like that!"

"You shouldn't underestimate Delilah… she may seem like your typical ditzy cheerleader but she has special powers of her own."

"You could have mentioned this a little earlier? What kind of powers?"

"Honestly, I don't know for certain. All I know is, she has a way of making things work out for her in the end." Mimi pondered.

"Greeeeeaaaat."

So now the heroes were on their own. With Mimi now just as lost in the hedge maze as they were, it would take the combined deductive efforts of all of our heroes to navigate the confusing labyrinth of foliage and make their way to Mimi's Mansion to vanquish this mysterious Delilah, and retrieve the 2nd artifact, the Ring of Riches.

After several hours of tracing the maze, the heroes had nearly given up, convinced they would remain in the maze forever.

"Guys … it's no use. We'll never figure a way out of here. We've passed that statue at least three times already. We're going in circles." Luigi plopped to the ground and sighed with disappointment.

"Oh gosh…. I'm starting to think he's right, Mario." Peach frowned big, and sat down next to Luigi. Mario joined them, and then O'chunks and Mimi took a seat as well.

They all sighed in unison.

"…_Wait_…!" Mimi exclaimed out of the sudden.

"What is it?" Peach looked up, curious.

"I just remembered! The mansion cellars run beneath the maze!"

"Uhhh, so?" Mario chimed in.

"There's a secret entrance to the cellars somewhere in this maze.. I bet taking our chances finding the entrance would be a lot more productive than trying to make our way out of the hedges. And the cellars are simple. They're not constructed in a maze-like fashion, like the gardens."

"Mimi! You're a genius! We've got to find the cellars, then!" Peach exclaimed.

"Come on, follow me! I remember where they are, and we're not far at all! I can tell."

"How can you be so sure?" Luigi asked.

"All of the sculptures in the garden hold a secret purpose; like, yeah they're for decoration and stuff but I also used them as a way to navigate the hedge maze."

"And you couldn't use them to navigate us to the exit?"

"Well, somehow Delilah changed up the maze, but it seems all the sculptures are still in the same place… and so will be the cellar entrance, if that's the case."

Mimi began sprinting through the leafy corridors, so as to make certain her memory would not fail her before she could find the entrance. The heroes ran to keep up, following closely behind.

"'EY! I'M NOT SO GOOD AT RUNNIN', YEH!" O'chunks exclaimed as he lagged behind. But there was no time to lose.

"Hurry up, O'chunks! You can do it!" Peach called back as they continued to sprint.

The heroes could not help but realize that the sky seemed to be growing darker and darker the longer they were in this maze. Dark clouds had been swiftly rolling in the entire time, moving across the sky at high speeds while powerful slipstreams of wind blew through the thin, trapping corridors of vines. The once calm and warm spring air had begun to feel as though a horrible storm was approaching. The heavens threatened to open up and drop torrential amounts of rain upon the heroes at any moment.

"AH HAH!" Mimi cried. "There it is!"

The heroes all cheered, happy to finally be getting out of the maze. "Thank god! I thought I was gonna go crazy in here!" Luigi exclaimed.

In a small clearing in the middle of a square of hedges, the heroes had found the wooden latch on the ground that when opened, would lead into the Mansion's catacombs.

"Unnnnnfff!" Peach huffed, trying to open the heavy wooden door.

"Princess, lemme take care o' that, eh?" O'chunks approached the wooden door, still gasping for air from all the running. They all stood back as he got a good grip and forcefully swung the creaking, dusty door open.

"Thanks O'chunks! You're such a sweetie!" Peach smiled.

"Come on! In we go!" Mimi led the way. One after the other, the gang entered into the dark, musty cellars. They were startled by a loud boom of thunder from just behind them. From outside, a loud, eerie howl of wind blew through the cellar corridors and slammed the wooden door shut. They could then hear it begin to pour down rain from outside.

"Heh, just in time.."

As they made their way further and further from the cellar's entrance, the sound of the rain began to gradually fade away, and the sounds of water dripping somewhere in the distance grew more prominent. The cold, stone walls and floors made for a chilly, damp environment, the only source of warmth being the small bit that emanated from the wall torch they were carrying. After walking through what seemed like one long, endless corridor, the heroes came to a door.

"The cellars are pretty big.. they run under the entirety of the grounds and mansion. It shouldn't be hard to find our way to the entrance inside the mansion's basement level. But there are bound to be lots of rooms that we want to make sure we don't begin backtracking and getting lost in."

The heroes nodded at Mimi's explanation. Through the door they went. This room was bigger and fully lighted. It also was not made entirely of stone like the previous corridor. It seemed more "habitable" if you would even use that word to describe a cellar.

"Oh right, we won't be needing this anymore. The cellars are lit from here out." Mimi put the torch into an empty wall holder.

"_Like, oh my gosh, not so fast!_" A random voice came, and then appeared three short, but thin girls who's black and white hair covered their faces save for their small, expressionless mouths. They appeared to be dressed in black and white cheerleading uniforms, and held in one hand, a white pompom, and in the other a black one.

"**OH GREAT!** It's the Glambots! Well looks like Delilah knows we're inside.."

Mario, Luigi and Peach looked surprised.

"Like, what do you think you're doing in here?" all three of them exclaimed in unison in very sassy, girly voices.

"Stay out of our way, or we'll kick your butts!" Peach argued.

"Tactful.." Mario said under his breath.

"Didn't Delilah like make it perfectly clear that ugly people aren't _allowed_ in the mansion?" the girl in the middle said, and then they all looked at each other and laughed.

"Ugh their voices are so annoying!" Peach was growing impatient with them.

"**COME ON, LET'S GET EM!**" Mimi jumped into action, tossing a large rubee full force at the middle girl. As the large gem struck her, she winced in pain and then disappeared, as if fading completely out of existence.

Mario swung at another Glambot with his hammer, but she dodged.

"Like ew! Are those _OVERALLS_?" The cheerleader smacked Mario across the face full force with her pompom.

"OW! Jeeze these girls are stronger than they look!" Mario called out, rubbing his cheek. He looked over at the girl, who's expressionless mouth had quickly changed into a smile. "I'll give you something to smile about.." Mario leapt high into the air, and then with full force came charging down and pounding straight on the girl's head. Poof, she faded away as well.

O'chunks and Peach were prepared to make a team assault on the last one, but she held up her pompoms and took a few steps back. Suddenly, her mouth too changed into a smile, which was the only way the heroes could tell what the Glambots were thinking, as the rest of their faces were veiled by their long, extremely well-groomed hair.

"Delilah will never stand for this.." she said in a mocking tone, still smiling. "The rules are quite clear. _**NO**_ ugly people allowed in the mansion…"

"Then maybe you and the rest of your '_gal pals_' should kick **yourselves** out." Peach stated, and then held out her hand, and in a quick burst of pink heart-shaped magic, blew up the girl, who screamed in pain before fading out.

The heroes were silent for a moment.

"Come on, let's go.." Mimi continued leading them.

Several rooms, and a couple more Glambot encounters later, the heroes had finally come to a room which looked the least like a cellar of all the rooms they had been in so far. In fact, this room looked more like a mansion then a cellar.

"Ah hah! Guys, we're here! That's the door into the mansion." Mimi was pointing at a large, fancy looking marble door with a rubee handle. But something was strange.. there was an odd "aura" around the door. The light seemed to get a bit darker near the door into the mansion, and if the heroes looked closely enough, it almost seemed like the air around it was _distorted_.

"Uhhh…." Luigi stammered. "Does anyone else notice the freakiness of that door..? Or is it just me?"

"I'm sure Delilah has set up loads of traps for us in there… You can bet her Glambots aren't gonna let us just traipse on up to their leader and give her the butt-kicking she deserves. Taking back the mansion won't be easy." Mimi warned.

"We'll stay by your side, Mimi. We'll get Delilah out of the mansion for you if it's the last thing we do." Peach put her hand on Mimi's shoulder. And for what might be the first time ever recorded in history, Mimi looked over at the four heroes and smiled.

_**TO BE CONTINUED...**_


End file.
